History Characters / MiddleEarthShadowOfMordor

* [[Characters/MiddleEarthShadowOfMordorAntagonists Antagonists]][[note]]Sauron, The Black Hand, The Hammer, The Tower, The Talons, The Witch-king, The Nazgûl, Zog the Eternal, Baz, Gaz, Daz, Tar Goroth, Ratak the Lawless, Takra the Sandspider, Zhója, and Úshak the Ringmaster[[/note]]

* [[Characters/MiddleEarthShadowOfMordorOther Other Characters]][[note]]Ioreth and Dirhael, Hallas, Eryn, Saruman, The Blue Istari, Morgoth, Bernwyn, Siric, Emperor Sagong, and Nemesis Orcs[[/note]]

* [[Characters/MiddleEarthShadowOfMordorAntagonists Antagonists]][[note]]Sauron, The Black Hand, The Hammer, The Tower, The Talons, The Witch-king, The Nazgûl, Zog the Eternal, Baz, Gaz, Daz, Tar Goroth, Ratak the Lawless, Takra the Sandspider, Zhója, Úshak the Ringmaster, and Nemesis Orcs[[/note]]

* [[Characters/MiddleEarthShadowOfMordorOther Other Characters]][[note]]Ioreth and Dirhael, Hallas, Eryn, Saruman, The Blue Istari, Morgoth, Bernwyn, Siric, and Emperor Sagong[[/note]]

* [[Characters/MiddleEarthShadowOfMordorOther Other Characters]][[note]]Ioreth and Dirhael, Hallas, Eryn, Saruman, The Blue Istari, Morgoth, Helm's Daughter, Helm's Daughter's Suitor, and Emperor Sagong[[/note]]

* [[Characters/MiddleEarthShadowOfMordorOther Other Characters]][[note]]Ioreth and Dirhael, Eryn, Saruman, The Blue Istari, and Morgoth[[/note]]

* [[Characters/MiddleEarthShadowOfMordorAntagonists Antagonists]][[note]]Sauron, The Black Hand, The Hammer, The Tower, The Talons, The Witch-king, The Nazgûl, Zog, Baz, Gaz, Daz, Tar Goroth, Ratak the Lawless, Takra the Sandspider, and Nemesis Orcs[[/note]]

'''Beware of spoilers!'''

[[foldercontrol]]

!!Protagonists

[[folder:Talion]]
!!Talion
->Voiced by: Creator/TroyBaker
[[quoteright:350:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/talion_8.jpg]]
[[caption-width-right:350:''"These aren't Orcs, they're Uruks. They're worse, and there's far too many."'']]

One of the Rangers of Gondor ego was stationed at the Black Gate, Talion is the sole survivor of Sauron's return, if only because instead of being sacrificed for the Black Hand to retrieve a powerful wraith from the dead, it joined with him instead. Already a masterful swordsman, a skilled acrobat, and a formidable fighter, the wraith's power has turned him into a OneManArmy, bent on revenge against the Black Hand for killing his family, and for the ResurrectiveImmortality that keeps him from reuniting with them.

* AchillesHeel: The only thing stopping Talion from passing on is The Wraith. [[spoiler:When the Black Hand severs their connection, Talion's lethal wounds immediately re-open. ''Shadow of War'' shows that a Ring of Power (which has the life force of its creator inside of it) can also sustain him]].
* AFatherToHisMen: Talion can be a massive BenevolentBoss to the Uruks under his command, and a generally more personable leader than Sauron ever was, to the point where he can actually befriend his army's leaders.
* AndThenJohnWasAZombie: [[spoiler:After taking Isildur's ring, Talion becomes a Ringwraith himself and bound to Sauron's service.]]
* AnimateDead: The logical endpoint for Talion's abilities, considering his banishment from death. [[spoiler: Ironically, he gains this ability after Celebrimbor leaves his body in ''Shadow of War''. In his place are Nazgûl powers that let him raise deceased orcs to fight for him once more.]]
* AntiHero: Talion's primary motivation is avenging his and his family's murders and he's willing to do just about whatever it takes to accomplish that. While he still limits himself to orcs, his domination and slaughter of them takes a toll and one monologue in the Lord of the Hunt DLC is that he starts questioning who is the real beasts between Mordor's fauna, the orcs and himself who hunts all of them.
* BadassBaritone: Courtesy of Creator/TroyBaker.
* BadassCape: Has one, and it can never be removed in gameplay. ''Shadow of War'' reveals it to be a TragicKeepsake of his dead wife. [[spoiler:His wraith form also has one, like the other Nazgúl.]]
* BadGuysDoTheDirtyWork: Interestingly {{inverted|Trope}} with Ratbag, an orc who gets Talion (a Man) to kill his enemies for him. Also arguably {{averted|Trope}}, since Ratbag is a HarmlessVillain and Talion was arguably planning on killing those enemies anyway.
* BadPowersGoodPeople: Due to being Celebrimbor's host, he has his powers by proxy but he is still qualifies as TheHero. This trope becomes even stronger at the end of ''Shadow of War'' when [[spoiler:Talion pretty much becomes a Nazgûl himself after rejecting Celebrimbor's goal to replace Sauron, and then uses his powers to defy the Dark Lord, keeping his armies divided for as long as he can to defend Middle-earth from being invaded by him]].
* BigGood: Downplayed. Talion isn't the most morally correct hero in Middle Earth, but he is the co-leader of the army of Orcs and Ologs opposing Sauron [[spoiler:and gets promoted to supreme leader after Celebrimbor's FaceHeelTurn.]]
* BlackEyesOfCrazy: In ''Shadow of War'', [[spoiler:when he claims Isildur's Ring -- or when he just wears the Servant set, his sclera turn black to accompany his yellow irises. It becomes more fitting once he succumbs to the ring and joins the Nazgûl]].
* BowAndSwordInAccord: Plus his TragicKeepsake "dagger." The bow is technically the Wraith's, but given their bond together, that amounts to semantics. [[spoiler:After becoming a Ringwraith, he gets to have one, but canonically changes to a small hammer.]]
* BulletTime: [[Manga/JojosBizarreAdventure Not unlike another grim-faced, stoic anti-hero bonded to an ethereal, long-haired, platinum-colored figure]], he can manipulate the flow of time in order to perform incredibly rapid attacks.
* CanonCharacterAllAlong: [[spoiler: He becomes one of the Nine Ringwraiths at the end of ''Shadow of War''.]]
* CharmPerson: By proxy, as the Wraith channels his branding powers through Talion's scarred hand.
* TheChessmaster: His interactions with the Nemeses can easily become this, and this is in fact encouraged by the gameplay mechanics.
* ConscienceMakesYouGoBack: By the end of the first game, Talion has what he wanted, a way to die and rejoin his family. He refuses on the basis that he can't rest knowing Sauron would be free to attack the rest of Middle-earth.
* CreepyGood: [[spoiler:As a Ringwraith in ''Shadow of War'' Act IV, since he uses many dark powers granted by Isildur's Ring to fight against Sauron and his minions]].
* CursedWithAwesome: His bond with the Wraith means he is "banished from death," meaning he [[WhoWantsToLiveForever cannot pass on]] and [[TogetherInDeath reunite with his family]]. On the other hand, he also has access to the Wraith's vast array of powers.
* DarkIsNotEvil: Despite having sinister, dark powers, and being generally very dour and cynical as the Gravewalker, Talion is still a noble, good man at heart.
** In ''Shadows of War'', he can sport the Vengeance and Servant sets, ''highly sinister'' looking sets of black armor worn alongside a tattered black hood and cloak, both of which make him look like the Black Hand of Sauron. During Act IV "Shadow Wars" of the story mode, [[spoiler:Talion dons the Servant set after he is forced to take Isildur's Ring and ''turns into a Nazgul'' himself -- and even if he swaps it for different armor his spectral form is always shown wearing it. Even then, he devotes several years fending off Sauron's invasion of Mordor until he eventually succumbs to Sauron's control]].
* TheDarkSideWillMakeYouForget: If you go and read the item descriptions of some of Talion's items from the past (namely his cloak, Ioreth's Embrace, and Acharn) after completing several of the Nazgul missions, they will change to reflect that Talion is [[spoiler:losing his memory of Dirhael and Ioreth. Ioreth's Embrace is changed to Dark Embrace, and prior to the Servant set being completed it states that while he can still remember it is a memento from their anniversary, the days are rapidly becoming more distant. Acharn, meanwhile, when fully upgraded flatly states that its original owner is long forgotten.]]
--> [[TragicKeepsake Acharn]]: [[spoiler: The dagger Acharn. Forever cursed, its original owner long forgotten.]]
--> Ioreth's/Dark Embrace: [[spoiler: A tattered cloak so stained in blood its origins can no longer be discerned.]]
* DarkAndTroubledPast: Dialogue in certain loading screens of ''Shadow of Mordor'' reveal that he murdered a nobleman who was trying to assault Ioreth. As this was quite a crime, the law was that he be put to death immediately -- the only reason he wasn't is because Ioreth's father learned she was pregnant with Talion's child (and that she'd claim she murdered the noblemen to defend him), thus giving Talion a choice between execution or service at the Black Gate in his place. He chose the latter.
* DeathSeeker: All he wants to do is die and join his wife and son. That goal changes in the finale of ''Mordor'', where he decides to wage war against Sauron.
--> Talion: Could you really rest for all of eternity, [[DareToBeBadass knowing that you had the chance to stop him but did nothing?]]
* {{Determinator}}: Even in the DarkestHour [[spoiler:after Celebrimbor's betrayal, when he decides to put on one of the Nine Rings]], he defiantly pronounces, "As long as I have breath in my body, my fate is my own!"
* DiedHappilyEverAfter: [[spoiler: After decades of torment and fighting against the dark forces of Mordor he finally dies when Mt Doom explodes and his fell beast is taken out by a lava bomb, granting him peace at last and finally the chance he was literally dying to have: [[EarnYourHappyEnding to be with his family again for all eternity.]]]]
* DragonRider: Talion rides fire-drakes in the second game. [[spoiler:Also just like the other Nazgûl, he rides fell-beasts as well and is actually seen mounted on one in the GoldenEnding when he is killed by Mount Doom's eruption]].
* DramaticIrony: One Gondorian artifact he can find strikes up a conversation with Celebrimbor about the giant Eagles, with the former doubting they can hold a candle to the Fell-beasts and drakes he's encountered. [[spoiler: Fast forward to ''Return of the King'', where being one of the Nazgul present at the Battle of the Black Gate - all riding Fell-beasts - he very quickly eats his own words.]]
* TheDreaded: Some Uruk Captains can develop a trait called 'Fear of the Gravewalker', [[ScrewThisImOutOfHere which causes them to flee in a blind panic as soon as they see Talion]].
* DyingAsYourself: [[spoiler: A FreezeFrameBonus in the GoldenEnding shows Talion with his human features again as opposed to the jagged metal face mask of the Nazgûl, suggesting he was free of Sauron's darkness with the One Ring's destruction in the last moments of his life]].
* EarnYourHappyEnding: Unlike Celebrimbor, Talion holds onto his humanity and fights against the forces of darkness as long as he can. [[spoiler:While he still ends up succumbing to the ring's influence and becomes a Nazgûl, his holding back the forces of Mordor earns enough time for [[ContinuityNod an unlikely hero to emerge and destroy the One Ring]], finally allowing Talion to find freedom in death.]]
* EmergencyTransformation: [[spoiler:When the Wraith leaves his body, he is forced to take Isildur's ring and become a Nazgûl himself so he would devote his following years resisting whoever came out the victor between Sauron and Celebrimbor's duel]].
* EmpoweredBadassNormal: He held his own very well at the Black Gate, and only stood down when his family was threatened. He's even more badass now that he's bonded with the Wraith and all his powers.
* EvilCostumeSwitch: [[spoiler:Twice in ''Shadow of War'': first when he puts on Isildur's ring and becomes a rogue Nazgûl (not [[DarkIsNotEvil quite evil]], but DarkerAndEdgier than before), he dresses in a black cloak and hood not too different from the Black Hand in the previous game. And after completing the Shadow Wars mode and unlocking the GoldenEnding, Talion dresses just like the other Nazgûls under Sauron's control]].
* EvilWeapon: Urfael and Acharn become this [[spoiler:when Talion turns into a ringwraith.]] Anything they kill has the chance to get back up as a revenant under his command.
* EvolvingWeapon:
** In ''Shadow of Mordor'', completing specific missions lets the Wraith reforge his weapons twice-over, completely transforming Urfael and Acharn.
** In ''Shadow of War'', Talion's [[StarterEquipment initial equipment,]] including Urfael and Acharn, will incrementally upgrade into [[spoiler: the Servant Set, as Talion fights and is exposed to the Nazgûl. The set is completed when Talion takes Isildur's ring and becomes a ringwraith himself.]]
* {{Expy}}: According to the developers, Talion is based on Boromir as a Gondorian warrior willing to wield dangerous powers to fight against the Dark Lord. His powers also make him vaguely similar to the Ringwraiths, a similarity which is emphasized in the second game when he actually confronts them, specially since like them he also uses a Ring of Power. [[spoiler:He does turn into a Ringwraith, but he still remains heroic for many decades until his eventual fall]].
* EyeColourChange: He has brown eyes in the prologue, but light blue eyes following his possession by Celebrimbor's ghost ''and'' again at the end when he pledges to create a new Ring of Power. [[spoiler:At the end of ''Shadow of War'' his irises turn yellow due to him falling under the influence of Isildur's Ring of Power. After he dies and ends up in Valinor, his eyes are a striking blue again.]]
* EveryoneHasStandards: [[spoiler: Over the course of ''Shadow of War'', he develops more and more scruples about Celebrimbor's brutal methods and growing lust for power, but the final straw truly comes when Celebrimbor tries to dominate Isildur; Talion, having seen Isildur's memories of how he became one of the Nazgûl, decides this is a line he won't cross and instead opts to [[MercyKill put Isildur out of his misery]], much to Celebrimbor's fury]].
-->'''Celebrimbor''': ''(furious)'' [[spoiler: He was not yours to release!]]\\
'''Talion''': ''(disgusted)'' [[spoiler: And he was not YOURS to enslave!]]
** [[spoiler: Moments later, Talion has another such moment when he discovers Celebrimbor's plan is to dominate Sauron and take his place as ruler of Mordor]].
--->'''Talion''': [[spoiler: I will not trade one Dark Lord for another! This is not the end I have fought for!]]
* FaceHeelTurn: [[spoiler:Finally falls to the corruption of Isildur's ring at the very end of the "Blade of Galadriel" DownloadableContent.]]
* FateWorseThanDeath: Of the WhoWantsToLiveForever variety. In fact, his big WhatTheHellHero to Cerebrimbor is that he ''lied'' about letting him die. It gets worse in the true ending of ''Shadow of War'', [[spoiler:where he becomes one of the Nazgul in place of Isildur. He only gets out of it by the end of the ''Lord of the Rings'' trilogy when the One Ring gets destroyed.]]
* FallenHero: [[spoiler:Becomes one of Sauron's lieutenants, and Nazgûl, during the true ending of ''Shadow of War''.]]
* TheFettered: Once he realizes [[HeelRealization he's not much better than Sauron]] with his ReforgedIntoAMinion tactics, he takes this stance, in contrast to [[TheUnfettered Celebrimbor]] wanting to enslave the Nazgûl.
* FinalBoss: [[spoiler:For the "Blade of Galadriel" DownloadableContent to ''Shadow of War''.]]
* FollowInMyFootsteps: He was raising his son, Dirhael, to become a Ranger.
* ForcedToWatch: Forced to see his wife and son die in a dark magic ritual before being killed himself.
* FrontlineGeneral: In ''Shadow of War'', Talion personally leads his Uruk armies in assaulting and taking enemy strongholds. This notably [[{{Foil}} sets him apart]] from Sauron, who [[OrcusOnHisThrone stays in the background]], and it's a trait that commands respect from his Uruk followers.
--> Uruk: You know what I like the most about the Bright Lord? He actually fights alongside us.
* GameplayAndStoryIntegration: [[spoiler:Every move he shows off in his boss fights in ''Blade of Galadriel'' can actually be performed in gameplay. His jumping teleport is a combination of Eagle's Eyrie and Talon Strike, and the explosions he causes [[FreezeFrameBonus are from the hammers he tosses around.]] He can even perform executions!]]
* GoodCounterpart: To the Nazgûl, since Talion is also a undead brought back to life with special powers, but he fights to protect Middle-earth from the Shadow and its minions. The similarities only become stronger in ''Shadow of War'' where Talion wields a Ring of Power just like them and he regularly fights against the Ringwraiths. [[spoiler:At the end of the game, Talion pretty much becomes a Ringwraith himself, albeit a [[DarkIsNotEvil renegade one]] waging war against the Dark Lord's forces to protect Middle-earth until his eventual fall]].
* GoodIsNotSoft: Unlike Celebrimbor, Talion is unambiguously good, and he will always choose helping his fellow Men over pursuing domination of Mordor. However, he has no mercy for orcs, and as the story progresses, the brutality of his war against Sauron is shown to be enough to corrupt him and get the attention of the Witch-king. [[spoiler:Even when he becomes a Ringwraith, he still holds himself to his morals, unlike Celebrimbor, who is consumed by his mad thirst for power]].
* GoodScarsEvilScars: A mixture of both: his hand is scarred from being smashed by the Hammer of Sauron, and serves as the focus point for the Wraith's BadPowersGoodPeople abilities.
* TheGreatestStoryNeverTold: [[spoiler:Except for Shelob herself, no one in Middle-earth will know that it was actually one of Sauron's own Nazgûl that waged war on him for many years, preventing it from uniting his forces and launching his invasion much earlier]].
* TheHero: In the game series, since he is the primary PlayableCharacter and is more noble and straightforward than [[ByronicHero Celebrimbor]].
* HeroicSacrifice: [[spoiler: When Celebrimbor abandons him, Talion begins to die from his slashed throat again. Seeing it laying on the ground nearby he grabs and puts on Isildur's Ring of Power knowing full well that it means eventually becoming a Ringwraith, and that he may never [[TogetherInDeath see his family again]]. In doing so, however, he buys himself the time he needs to give Middle-earth time to prepare for Sauron.]]
* HeroicWillpower: [[spoiler: After putting on Isildur's Ring of Power to save his own life Talion's will to resist the ring and wage war against Sauron lasts for ''decades''.]]
* HeelRealization: While looking at Isildur's memory, Talion realizes that enslaving Sauron's minions makes him and Celebrimbor no different from Sauron.
* HeroesPreferSwords: While he does have other weapons at his disposal, Talion's primary weapon is [[CoolSword Urfael]]. In ''Shadows of War'', he has the option to wield a variety of different blades.
* HeWhoFightsMonsters: Talon is the first line of defense between Middle-earth and the forces of darkness, but being one man he had to use the power of the Wraith and ring of power to have a fighting chance which consumes him slowly. Even the orcs comment that Talion is NotSoDifferent than them except they can rest in peace when they die.
* HiddenDepths: ''Shadow of War'''s Gondorian Artifact sidequests have Talion reveal a few sides to his character through commentary on the artifacts he finds. For instance, he always wanted to learn to play the lute, and in his younger days had an interest in carpentry.
-->'''Celebrimbor:''' Talion the craftsman, I would have liked to see that.
* HumanSacrifice: He, along with the rest of his family, were sacrificed in a ritual to summon the Wraith. He alone revived due to bonding with the Wraith.
* HurtingHero: The pain of losing his family (and, to a lesser extent, his fellow rangers) carries throughout his journey. He looks sad when Hirgon and Eryn happily reunite, and the Wraith has to tell him off when he starts projecting onto Lithariel.
-->'''Talion''': I had a family once, a wife and a son...and I buried them, along with ''everyone'' I've ever known.
* InformedFlaw: In ''War'' orcs sometimes insult Talion by claiming he is horrifyingly ugly and looks like he's rotting. Despite being an undead being, he remains relatively handsome throughout the game, and even if hit by a cursed weapon, he just turns pale. [[spoiler: As a bonus, he doesn't seem to age a day during the decades he fought Sauron as a rogue Nazgúl]].
* InkSuitActor: Not so much in ''Shadow of Mordor'', but ''Shadow of War'' uses new character models, and Talion's looks a lot like Troy Baker. In fact, the model looks uncannily similar to a hairier version of [[VideoGame/InfamousSecondSon Delsin Rowe]].
* InTheHood: Can wear some hooded capes in ''War''.[[spoiler:His default ringwraith appearance and his own wraith form also have them, like all the Nazgûl.]]
* LivingOnBorrowedTime: The only thing keeping him alive is his bond to Celebrimbor, as whenever they are separated the fatal wound in his throat opens up unless Talion is wearing a Ring of Power.
* MalignedMixedMarriage: While not focused during the series due to his wife Ioreth being dead from the start, their marriage was subjected to scrutiny by her father Hallas according to the loading screens/flashbacks, since Ioreth was of Númenórean descent like most nobles and Talion was a Northman of Rhovanion that was born and raised in Gondor.
* MeaningfulName: His name comes from the law of talion in the Bible, which is the origin of the saying "an eye for an eye".
* MotiveDecay: In contrast with Celebrimbor, [[spoiler:whose quest for revenge twisted into planned tyranny, Talion goes the opposite route; first he just wishes to die, then to destroy Sauron before dying, and once given the chance to finally rejoin his family, he realizes he cannot let Sauron ''or'' Celebrimbor win and picks up the only way he could slow either of them down, knowing that doing so will turn him into Sauron's servant and prevent him from joining his family in death possibly forever]]. In effect, the loss of his way in his motivation serves to show his CharacterDevelopment, rather than being TheDarkSideWillMakeYouForget.
* MultiMeleeMaster: He's skilled in both longsword and dagger combat, and while he only wields one at a time, he can alternate between them on the fly. In the sequel he gets to use smithing hammers and glaives.
* MurderIsTheBestSolution: his attitude towards orcs is mostly those who can't be dominated die and those that betray him die too, stating that he is only using them to get to Sauron and couldn't care less about Celebrimbor's politics.
* {{Necromancer}}: [[spoiler:He gains the power after he takes Isildur's ring. At first, it only allows resurrecting grunts, but Ologs, Beasts, and even captains can eventually be reanimated with upgrades.]]
* NeverMyFault: After things start to unravel in the sequel, he chews out Celebrimbor for making another Ring. Celebrimbor accurately fires back that Talion wielded the hammer of his own accord.
* NiceJobBreakingItHero: At the end of ''Shadow of Mordor'', Celebrimbor dismissed challenging Sauron as futile and was ready to pass on to the afterlife, but was persuaded into forging a new Ring of Power by Talion. [[spoiler:Talion comes to regret this when Celebrimbor becomes a ruthless tyrant and betrays him.]]
* NormallyIWouldBeDeadNow: When the Black Hand severs Talion's connection to Celebrimbor, Talion's lethal wounds reopen. Instead of collapsing and bleeding out, like he did the first time, Talion holds on long enough to kill the Black Hand and get Celebrimbor back. [[spoiler:This happens again in ''Shadow of War'' when Shelob takes the New Ring from him, and when Celebrimbor takes the New Ring and abandons him to possess Eltariel.]]
* NotSoDifferent: His bond with Celebrimbor makes him similar to the Nazgul, being beings with superpowers who cannot die. Battles with the Nazgul are somewhat of a MirrorMatch with them each having some similar powers to his own, and [[spoiler:he even keeps the majority of his powers after becoming one himself, even taking Isildur's {{Necromancer}} traits]].
* OhCrap: When Talion faces a [[spoiler:Balrog]] in ''Shadow of War'', it's the first time in either game he's clearly panicking, and tells Celebrimbor that the creature is "beyond us."
* OneManArmy: The series' premise is that Talion, with Celebrimbor along for the ride, is effectively waging a one man war against Sauron and all the forces of Mordor. [[ForegoneConclusion And while he doesn't win,]] he doesn't lose easily either.
* OnlyKnownByTheirNickname: [[spoiler: After becoming a Ringwraith, some Uruks still call him the Bright Lord, since most orcs don't know what he looks like, and he still fits the same description of a OneManArmy as before Celebrimbor abandoned him.]]
* OnlySaneMan: Being an AudienceSurrogate many times, he doesn't have much time for lunacy. For instance, when dealing with Ratbag, he looks like he's going to roll his eyes at any moment. (Instead, he's gritting his teeth and makes not-so-veiled threats.)
* PhlebotinumRebel: The Hand of Sauron kills him to power a ritual -- the same ritual that goes slightly askew and grants Talion his ResurrectiveImmortality.
* PowerEchoes: In the Shadow Wars mode of ''Shadow of War'', [[spoiler:when Talion claims a fort and is in his Wraith form, his voice is distorted and echoic]].
* PragmaticHero: The developers explicitly compare him to [[Literature/TheLordOfTheRings Boromir]]. He's reluctant to use various methods advocated by [[UnscrupulousHero the Wraith]], but does so nonetheless in order to continue on his mission.
* TheRedBaron: He's known amongst the Uruk as the "Gravewalker", especially at his most fearsome. If his legacy starts to wane, however (if he dies a lot in succession, or stops killing off captains for a time), he's more likely to be referred to as the more derisive "Tark". Later known as The Bright Lord, which makes sense as most Orcs can't see Celebrimbor, who actually holds the title.
* ResurrectiveImmortality: Thanks to his bond with the Wraith, he's "banished from death" and revives at a Forge Tower some time later when he's slain. [[spoiler:Isildur's ring keeps him alive after he turns into a Ringwraith.]]
* RoaringRampageOfRevenge: A subversion. Talion has the perfect bedrock for one of these, being magically kept alive after the murder of his wife and son, hunting the people who did that to him. However, his main motivation is to break the curse and be allowed to die, not taking revenge. In fact, Celebrimbor has to keep reminding him about what he's lost and how he wants revenge in order to keep them moving.
* SicklyGreenGlow: [[spoiler:Has this look in his Ringwraith state after taking Isildur's ring, replacing Celebrimbor's bluish ghostly overlay.]]
* SpannerInTheWorks: He becomes this in the second game to [[spoiler:Celebrimbor and Sauron; by mercy-killing Isildur and refusing to follow Celebrimbor, he completely undoes one BadFuture from happening where Celebrimbor would have prevailed over the Dark Lord and proceed to enslave Middle-earth, while his continuous defiance against Sauron prevented uniting his forces much sooner and invading Middle-earth decades before the events of ''Fellowship of the Ring'']].
* SupernaturalGoldEyes: In one of Shelob's visions, Talion is shown being dominated by the Witch-king of Angmar, his irises turning red-and-yellow. At the end of ''Shadow of War''[='=]s story mode, [[spoiler:Talion's eyes turn yellow after he claims Isildur's ring]].
* ThatManIsDead: [[spoiler: Declares after succumbing to the Ring's corruption]].
-->'''Talion''': [[spoiler: This Ring is mine...and Talion is no more!]]
* TheQuietOne: [[spoiler:Originally, he had no new[[note]]He keeps most of those that he already had, such as when he meets with someone he's sent a death threat to[[/note]] lines whatsoever during Act IV and beyond, with the exception of speeches when his army captured a fortress, and just grunted when dominating orcs. He was later given more lines with a patch.]]
* TookALevelInBadass: Not that he wasn't badass at the start of the series, but the power gap from where he began increases as the series progresses: he is revived as a EmpoweredBadassNormal with spectral powers and the ability to return to life everytime he is killed. In the second game, after forging a Ring of Power under Celebrimbor's instruction, he uses it to become Sauron's ''rival'' by building his own army of minions instead of just harassing his foes. By the end of ''Shadow of War'', [[spoiler:he has become so powerful as a Ringwraith that he is quite literally the only thing standing between Sauron and Middle-earth. Not to mention that he single-handedly reclaims Minas Morgul, something an army of gondorians failed at.]]
* UndeathlyPallor: Averted while the Wraith is bound to Talion, as he retains his normal skin tone. [[spoiler:After becoming a Ringwraith, his skin becomes ashen grey with visible black veins.]]
* VoiceOfTheLegion: Whenever Celebrimbor takes over him, [[spoiler:and after he becomes a Ringwraith]].
* WeUsedToBeFriends: [[spoiler:He still bears a grudge against Eltariel for betraying him alongside Celebrimbor and refuses to hand over his Ring of Power to her, prompting a boss fight between the two]].
* WhatTheHellHero: Talion asks this [[spoiler: of Celebrimbor after defeating the Ringwraith that was once Helm Hammerhand, and seeing that Celebrimbor was just as complicit in the man's corruption as Sauron himself]].
-->'''Talion''': [[spoiler: You stood beside Sauron as he gave these kings the very rings that doomed them!]]
** [[spoiler: In the Blade of Galadriel DLC, at the end he snarls this at Eltariel when she urges him not to betray the good man he was by refusing to give up Isildur's ring, pointing out that she has no right to talk to him about betrayal when it is her fault and Celebrimbor's that he was forced into this]].
-->'''[[spoiler:Eltariel]]''': [[spoiler: Talion, do not betray the Man you were]].
-->'''Talion''': [[spoiler:''You'' speak to ''me'' of betrayal?! You ''abandoned'' me! You and Celebrimbor! You took '''''EVERYTHING''''' from me!]]
* WreckedWeapon: Acharn is the broken hilt of Dirhael's sword, doubling as a TragicKeepsake. Talion uses it as a makeshift dagger, and completing specific side-missions will see the dagger grow from a shattered longsword to a reforged dagger, courtesy of the Wraith.
* YouAreInCommandNow: [[spoiler:After Celebrimbor betrays him and is trapped with Sauron in the eye, their army is without a leader. Not for long.]]
* YouHaveOutlivedYourUsefulness:
** Talion can pull this on orcs he's dominated, abandoning them to die. However, this can backfire on him in ''Shadow of War'' since it undermines his authority with the rest of his army and abandoned orcs can come back looking for revenge.
** At the end of ''Shadow of War'', [[spoiler:Talion refuses to let Celebrimbor dominate Isildur. In response, Celebrimbor takes the New Ring and gives it to Eltariel, dismissing Talion as nothing more than a vessel that he no longer has use for before leaving him for dead.]]
* YouKillItYouBoughtIt: [[spoiler:After he kills Nazgûl-Isildur and he is abandoned by his allies for it, he takes Isildur's ring to oppose and slow down whichever tyrant beats the other one atop Barad-Dûr.]]
* YouShallNotPass: Realizing the futility in fighting Sauron with the Ring of Power, he takes control of Minas Morgul and does this as long as he can against the forces of Mordor [[spoiler:until he becomes a ringwraith in the ending]].
* ZombieApocalypse: Can easily invoke this on a regional scale [[spoiler: after claiming Isildur's ring. This makes him one of the most powerful of the Nazgûl, able to hold his ground against all of Mordor for decades.]]

[[/folder]]

[[folder:Celebrimbor]]
!!Celebrimbor
[[quoteright:350:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/7740951_761.jpg]]
[[caption-width-right:350:''"It is a gift. We shall use the enemy's weapons against him."'']]
[[quoteright:350:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/the_bright_lord_6.jpg]]
[[caption-width-right:350:Celebrimbor before his death]]
->Voiced by: Creator/AlastairDuncan

A powerful spirit of vengeance who was summoned on the night of Sauron's return by the Black Hand to serve the Dark Lord, but instead possessed the ranger Talion, using him as an instrument for its own revenge.
----
* AdaptationalIntelligence: In the books, he had no part in [[spoiler: forging the One Ring, only the lesser ones]] and further more, was one of the many ringmakers, while here he's the only one (other than Sauron).
* AdaptationalVillainy: He was a fully heroic character in the books, if unwittingly used as part of Sauron's scheme. Here, thanks to heavy exposure to the One Ring before his death, he's ''severely'' more AmbiguouslyEvil.
* AesopAmnesia: As Talion [[WhatTheHellHero brings up]] after learning of his part in the fall of [[spoiler:Helm Hammerhand]], he completely ignored the idea of the corruption of rings of power, and decided to create the New Ring anyway, [[DramaticallyMissingThePoint believing it to be perfect and incorruptible]].
-->'''Talion:''' Knowing what you know now... ''still'' [[DrunkWithPower you crafted a new ring]].
* AmbiguouslyEvil: If The Bright Lord DLC is anything to go by. After stealing the One Ring from Sauron, his motivation begins to shift from saving his family to dethroning Sauron and ruling in his place. And his reaction just before possessing Talion?
--> Finally... all will fear me and rejoice!
** ''Shadow of War'' shows that he was involved in Sauron's plot to hand out Nazgúl rings to a least one human king. Celebrimbor claims to have been deceived alongside everyone else, but given that we know he will become more covetous of power later on his motivations are unclear.
* AndIMustScream: [[spoiler:After being absorbed by Sauron and turned into the Flaming Eye of Barad-dur, Celebrimbor spends several years trapped in eternal battle for dominance against his enemy. He is freed after the One Ring is destroyed and Sauron with it]].
* ArcherArchetype: The Wraith's a master archer, a skill he lends to Talion as a byproduct of his possession of the ranger, and he is a very cold and pragmatic voice in most matters.
* BadassBoast: After the Witch-king possesses an orc to say he comes for Talion, Celebrimbor has his own message for Sauron.
-->'''Celebrimbor:''' [[IronicEcho I.COME.FOR.HIM!]]
* BadPowersGoodPeople: The Wraith is a good guy, but he has some freaky and dangerous powers, including the ability to mind-control Uruks. [[AmbiguouslyEvil Or is it?]]. [[spoiler:By the end of ''Shadow of War'', he became an example of BadPowersBadPeople]].
* BodySurf: His wraith form can take over willing hosts. While Talion wasn't exactly a willing host, he was his initial host likely because of the HumanSacrifice aspect.
* ByronicHero: He's ''incredibly'' ruthless, coolly advising Talion on how to best demoralize and terrify the Orcs, and enjoying his branding and [[MindProbe Interrogation]] powers a bit much. If you've read Literature/TheSilmarillion and know who he's related to, this probably isn't a surprise. To be precise, he's Fëanor's grandson and his father, Curufin, was said to be the most like his father of all of his brothers, but far calmer and more calculating.
* CanonCharacterAllAlong: Initially known only as the Wraith, he's eventually revealed to be Celebrimbor.
* CantArgueWithElves: Celebrimbor sees his race as the best thing since sliced bread and can never be corrupted like Sauron.
* ConsummateLiar:
** To start with, Talion being unable to pass on isn't because of the Black Hand's sorcery, but because Celebrimbor has taken hold of him, and he could've released ''both of them'' at any time. Moreover, when they first meet, Celebrimbor says he doesn't remember much, and Shadow of Mordor's story is peppered with finding artifacts that belonged to him, allowing him to regain his memories... but as the Bright Lord DLC shows, he was very much aware of his identity prior to taking hold of Talion.
** [[spoiler:During a demonstration of the Nemesis Forge, when Celebrimbor calls Sauron "the Master of Lies", a developer chuckles and replies, "No, ''you'' are!"]]
* CruelAndUnusualDeath: It's revealed in a flashback that he was beaten by Sauron with a smith hammer apparently until his head split open, then had the spike of that hammer ''driven into his brain'' after his theft of the One Ring ended in a CurbStompBattle.
* TheDarkSideWillMakeYouForget:
** Due to the Ring's influence, as the ''Bright Lord'' DLC progresses, it becomes clear that he's becoming more and more disinterested in his original interests of saving his family and saving Middle-earth, which is slowly being replaced by a desire to dominate and rule Mordor as the Bright Lord.
** In ''Shadow of War'', Talion asks "How much of your soul was lost in that Ring?". Celebrimbor tells him that the deaths of their families no longer matter, and all he cares about is restoring order to the land.
* DeadpanSnarker: In ''Shadow of War'', he likes to make snarky comments about Orc culture, artifacts, history, and even deaths.
* {{Deuteragonist}}: He's Talion's battle partner, the source of Talion's power and undeath, he's playable in his own [=DLC=] scenario, he's [[spoiler: one of the causes of the plot, being the one who forged the One Ring]], and[[spoiler:, by way of FusionDance, he's half of the Eye of Sauron]].
* DidYouJustFlipOffCthulhu: In a flashback, it's revealed that [[spoiler:he stole the One Ring ''literally from right under Sauron's nose'' and tried to wield it against him. [[BrokeYourArmPunchingOutCthulhu It didn't work out]].]]
** Much of the dialogue in The Bright Lord is him telling the Dark Lord to cram it where the sun don't shine. [[spoiler: [[DoNotTauntCthulhu Too bad he couldn't quite back up his trash talk,]] [[ForegoneConclusion but you should have already known that.]]]]
* DoomedByCanon: There was no way he was going to come out on top of Sauron, thanks to being before the events of the main trilogy.
* DramaticallyMissingThePoint: As shown by his actions as a Wraith, he believes that [[spoiler:the fact that he lost to Sauron and his corruption was due to the One Ring being forged with Sauron's power. He completely ignores the fact that ''he'' forged the rings of the Nazgul, albeit at Sauron's behest, and they ended up causing corruption on their own. Predictably, when he forges one himself using Talion's body, his own corruption increases significantly, if he were not EvilAllAlong]].
* DropTheHammer: Tends to use one in his off-hand in ''Shadow of War''. You can claim it for Talion's use by completing the Shadows of the Past missions.
* EnemyWithin: Inverted. He quickly befriends Talion after they wind up in the same body, and they get along pretty well after that (although they can still bicker on occasion). [[spoiler:Played absolutely straight after Talion frees Isildur. Celebrimbor decides he's had enough of him. Unlike most examples of this trope however, he opts to abandon Talion's body for a host willing to work with him rather than force him to obey.]]
* EveryoneHasStandards: Mixed with EvenEvilHasStandards, but despite his propensity to [[BrainwashedAndCrazy brand]] orcs and his plans to [[spoiler:dominate Sauron]], even he thinks trying to control a [[OurDemonsAreDifferent Balrog]] is just plain crazy. He also agrees with Talion that something as destructive as Tar-Goroth can't be allowed to run loose in Middle-earth.
* EyeColourChange: In a flashback, [[spoiler:his irises turn from blue to yellow when he succumbs to the One Ring's corruption]].
* EvilAllAlong: [[spoiler:His distinct brutality, cruelty and general presence over Talion show through in ''Shadow of War'' almost from the beginning, raising the question as to what degree this is going on. Is Talion with the New Ring merely a vessel to reclaim his Bright Lord mantle as opposed to the stated goal of defeating Sauron for its own sake? He did lie to Talion about their condition in the first game and certainly doesn't hesitate to leave Talion for dead and possess Eltariel the moment it becomes clear Talion won't go through with certain "steps" (by letting Isildur's wraith go). Both Shelob and Eltariel, far more knowledgeable characters than Talion, do view Celebrimbor with icy hostility.]]
-->'''Sauron''': In the body of Elf or Man, you are unchanged, Celebrimbor!\\
'''Shelob''': You saw Celebrimbor for what he ''really'' was.
* EvilCounterpart: [[spoiler:Ultimately, he turns out to be this when compared to Talion. While the Ranger is willing to do anything to just be TogetherInDeath with his wife and son, and has a HeelRealization that results in him refusing to [[MadeASlave Brand]] Isildur (a misguided human not unlike himself, instead of an Uruk or Olog), Celebrimbor ends up JumpingOffTheSlipperySlope if he were not EvilAllAlong, and seems to decide that vengeance and [[WithGreatPowerComesGreatInsanity power]] is more important than his family.]] However, when Talion makes his fateful choice, [[JerkassHasAPoint Celebrimbor points out that Sauron can't actually be killed forever like Talion seems to think, since they have no idea where the original One Ring is. Nobody has a better plan than what Celebrimbor is proposing.]]
* EvilMakesYouUgly: He already had scars in ''Shadow of Mordor'', but by ''Shadow of War'' his face has become nothing ''but'' scars; according to Celebrimbor, this is because he put almost all of his life force into the New Ring. Even during the Bright Lord DLC his wraith form is already scarred, although this is less because of his corruption and more because of [[PropRecycling his character model being re-used]], and in the "Shadows of the Past" missions in ''War'', his wraith form is practically identical to his normal appearance, with the exception of it's blue glow and white eyes.
* FacePalmOfDoom: The Wraith's branding involves placing his hand on the side of his target's face.
* FantasticRacism: Celebrimbor looks down on all non-Elf races. He assures Talion that it's okay to brainwash Orcs, since they are AlwaysChaoticEvil. [[spoiler:When forsaking Talion, he openly appeals to Eltariel, saying an elf host would be far better than a human one.]]
* FightingSpirit: In the most literal sense given he is a dead soul attached to a living man. During certain combo strings one can see the Wraith attacking on each off-swing Talion gives, making it appear that he is mimicking his host's attacks -- or [[PuppetMaster has simply taken control of Talion]].
* {{Foil}}: To Galadriel. He seems to be everything she fears becoming. [[spoiler:Also to Talion. See EvilCounterpart.]]
* ForcedToWatch: [[spoiler: After defeating him, Sauron punished Celebrimbor for his audacity in stealing the One Ring by forcing him to watch the murders of his wife and daughter before his own death]].
* FromNobodyToNightmare: While a High-elf blacksmith isn't exactly a ''nobody'', he ''is'' singlehandedly opposing a Maia that took an alliance of men and elves to push back last time - and [[spoiler:[[{{Seer}} Shelob]], at least, believes that he'd actually have ''succeeded'' in conquering Middle-earth had Talion remained on his side. The Blade of Galadriel DLC confirms that he is actually still alive, and now that Sauron is dead, Middle-earth is short of one Dark Lord...]].
* FusionDance: [[spoiler:He and Sauron are fused into one being, becoming the flaming eye at the top of Barad-dur]].
* GoneHorriblyWrong: As it turns out, the Wraith remembered ''enough'' of his life to understand that Sauron was responsible for a lot of his misery before he died. Whoops.
* GoodCounterpart: More like [[spoiler: less evil counterpart, as he's the Bright Lord to Sauron's Dark Lord. [[SubvertedTrope Shelob actually sees him as worst since he can win the war and rule over Middle-earth unlike Sauron who is still too weakened]]]].
* GhostAmnesia: The Wraith can't remember his life, but certain items help to restore his memories and, consequently, increase his powers. He can't even remember his own name until Gollum leads him to the right artifact. [[spoiler: The Bright Lord DLC ending shows he was very likely faking it.]]
* HeadbuttingHeroes: With Talion in the sequel, the elf is more focused on defeating Sauron while Talion wants to help his fellow humans, which cause a lot of arguing during the siege of Minas Ithil and ends up [[spoiler: with Celebrimbor betraying Talion so he can subjugate Sauron and restore order in Middle-Earth]].
* HeWhoFightsMonsters: Sauron mocks Celebrimbor by telling him he will "become what he seeks to destroy." [[spoiler:This literally becomes the case when Sauron absorbs Celebrimbor at the end of ''Shadow of War''.]]
* HijackingCthulhu: [[spoiler:His endgame in ''Shadow of War'' is to turn Sauron into his thrall and conquer Middle-earth. And in the timeline Shelob saw in a vision and seeks to prevent, ''he would have succeeded''.]]
* HoistByHisOwnPetard: He died an IronicDeath [[spoiler:when Sauron killed him by beating him to death with his own smithing hammer.]]
* HorribleJudgeOfCharacter: All of his allies betray him, [[spoiler:with the exception of Eltariel, who isn't too fond of him anyway. As a twist, ''he'' betrays Talion instead of the other way around. When he admires Brûz the Chopper, that should have clued player in that Brûz would try to betray him, too.]]
* {{Hypocrite}}: Celebrimbor suffers from ProtagonistCenteredMorality. Once, Celebrimbor will scoff at the Feral Tribe that they dominate that which they can't control, and kill those they can't dominate. Sound familiar?
* JumpedOffTheSlipperySlope: At some point, his RoaringRampageOfRevenge went from WellIntentionedExtremist to TheDarkSideWillMakeYouForget.
* KickTheDog: [[spoiler:Abandoning Talion for Eltariel can at least fall into the excuse that it was for his plan. Then he decides to twist the knife and dismisses Talion as nothing more than a replacable vessel.]]
* LaserGuidedKarma: [[spoiler:Face it, ending up being merged with Sauron after trying to Brand him is pretty appropriate.]]
* LightIsNotGood: [[spoiler: While Celebrimbor is ultimately well-intentioned, and sincerely wants to defend Middle-earth from the shadow, he is ''very'' ruthless, downright vicious, and willing to cross ''any'' moral boundary fighting against Sauron. Unlike Talion, Celebimbor ''does'' desire power for its own sake, as well. His harsh blue light becomes more forboding when compared to Eltariel and Galadriel's soft golden light motif.]]
* LimitedWardrobe: He is never seen without his blue & grey armor. He had it on when he stole the One Ring, had it on when he died, and still has it on as a wraith hundreds of years later.
* LuckyTranslation: His name in Sindarin means "Silver Hand," which in retrospect draws an easy parallel with the White Hand of Saruman, another [[BigBadWannabe would-be Dark Lord]] with a LightIsNotGood motif who brands his Uruk servants with a hand-print. The only reason it's this and not a MeaningfulName from the start is because of his expanded role compared to the books.
* TheMinionmaster: In the Bright Lord DLC, he is capable of branding Uruks en-masse, meaning that he can quickly create a small army in a short period of time.
* MotiveDecay: Late into ''Shadow of War'', he admits it's no longer about revenge for him, but rather [[spoiler: installing a new rule on Middle-earth.]]
* NearVillainVictory: At the end of ''Shadow of War'', [[spoiler:Shelob tells a dying Talion that in the future she originally saw, Celebrimbor [[HijackingCthulhu enslaved Sauron]] and went on to become a tyrant who was just as ruthless but far more successful, and that Talion narrowly averted that future by refusing to let Celebrimbor dominate Isildur. Even without Talion, with Eltariel as his host Celebrimbor almost succeeds in dominating Sauron using his New Ring. However, Sauron resists long enough to cut the New Ring off Eltariel's hand -- freeing himself -- and then returns the favor by absorbing him.]]
* NeverMyFault: After seeing Helm Hammerhand's memories in ''Shadow of War'', Talion calls out Celebrimbor for his complicity in building Sauron's rings of power, and then knowingly repeating it by building a second ring of power. Celebrimbor insists that he built the rings to bring order, and that the second ring is different because the people they enslave are "savage Orcs", and that if Talion doesn't like it, he should remember that technically, ''[[NoYou he]]'' forged the ring with a smug smile on his face. Celebrimbor's hatred for Sauron has to do with personal vengeance and grievance entirely and he doesn't seem to have any guilt or responsibility for enabling his rise to power. In fact, this is the point at which Talion [[BrokenPedestal seems to finally realize that Celebrimbor is not as infallible as he seems even then]].
* NiceJobBreakingItHero: Thanks to his RoaringRampageOfRevenge, he's the reason Sauron gets his One Ring back.
* NiceJobFixingItVillain: [[spoiler:Even when Talion killed Isildur, there are still 8 Ringwraiths, each one powerful on their own. Losing one isn't that terrible, but at that point he is so crazed by power that he considers the slightest misstep betrayal. Heck, nothing would have stopped him from staying silent about it and turning Talion into Isildur's replacement for disobeying him after they dominated Sauron. Once the two separate, he is doomed to fail]].
* NotSoDifferent: It becomes clear by the end of Shadow of War that in his pursuit for vengeance against Sauron, he has become no different from Sauron. Further emphasized by the fact that [[spoiler:he and Sauron literally become one during their final battle, and the Blade of Galadriel DLC confirms he survived because his soul is tied to the New Ring which continues to exist even after the One Ring was destroyed. At this point, their only difference seems to be that he has no lesser rings to control others with... yet.]]
** Celebrimbor put all of his life force into the New Ring, much like Sauron did with the One Ring.
** Celebrimbor's stated desire to "bring order to Mordor" should have set off alarm bells in the heads of any player familiar with the ''[[Literature/TheSilmarillion Silmarillion]]'', since that's ''exactly'' what Sauron set out to do after Morgoth's fall.
* NotQuiteDead: When Sauron killed him years ago. [[spoiler: The Blade of Galadriel DLC confirms he managed to survive against Sauron until the latter perished, and is now free again [[FridgeBrilliance since while Sauron was killed when the One Ring was destroyed, Celebrimbor's Ring still exists...]]]]
* NoYou: After Talion calls Celebrimbor out on creating a new ring despite knowing their danger, he points out that ''they'' forged the new ring, as Talion ended the first game by suggesting the idea and willfully used Celebrimbor's hammer.
* ObviouslyEvil: It is vaguely plausible early in the series that Celebrimbor may really just be a KnightTemplar willing to sacrifice anything or anyone to defeat Sauron. The [[JumpingOffTheSlipperySlope line]] of [[MindRape missions]] involving Bruz [[NewEraSpeech clarify]] his moral character. Listening to [[spoiler: Bruz after shaming]] is possibly the most horrifying thing in any Lord of the Rings book, movie, or game.
* OhCrap: When he faces Carnán, he knows he's dealing with an entity as powerful as Tom Bombadil.
* OurElvesAreBetter: Tolkien's Elves are already very powerful beings, superior to humans in speed, stamina and wisdom. Being a ghost has given the Wraith a great deal of mystical power on top of that. [[spoiler: As a close relative of Feanor, he qualifies as a High Elf, said to be much wiser and more powerful than "normal" Elves. Of course, just because they're better doesn't mean Elves are precluded from monumental screwups, like say, getting duped into making the Rings of Power and nearly handing Middle Earth to the Dark Lord of Mordor, and then making things [[HeWhoFightsMonsters SO MUCH WORSE]] trying to usurp his position.]] He even brings up CantArgueWithElves in Shadow of War's banter with Talion, mentioning how any amount of Men or Orcs can't measure to a single Elf in said department (with evidence to back it up).
* PayEvilUntoEvil: [[spoiler:He wielded the One Ring against Sauron and his Uruks, turning them into ''his'' murderous army]].
* PinnedToTheWall: One of the abilities for the Wraith to unlock is the "Pin in Place" ability that will temporarily keep Uruks from running away... provided they aren't immune to ranged attacks.
* PlayerCharacter: You control him during the Bright Lord DLC in ''Shadow of Mordor'', the Shadows of the Past missions in ''Shadow of War'', and [[spoiler:the final battle against Sauron in ''Shadow of War'']].
* PlayingWithFire: The Wraith's powers tend to be linked with fire, such as causing campfires and grog to explode or shooting arrows of mystical fire. WordOfGod is that this is tied to his UltimateBlacksmith nature.
* {{Pride}}: According to WordOfGod, Celebrimbor [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sxRVeyzuO7o thinks]] that since the new Ring wasn't touched by Sauron, it won't be corrupted. It doesn't quite click with him that it was not some abstract dark influence that made the One Ring evil: it was ''power'', plain and simple, and the will to use it to dominate others, and Celebrimbor is too short-sighted to realize that he made his new Ring in exactly the same way.
* PromotedToPlayable: The Bright Lord DLC allows you to play as him when he was still alive, [[spoiler:and is set after he stole the one Ring.]] He is also playable in some flashbacks in ''War'', and [[spoiler:is the playable character during the final fight against Sauron]].
* PureIsNotGood: Celebrimbor certainly thinks it is, since his new ring is untouched by Sauron's influence. Eltariel is not convinced and questions just what his ring is purely made out of.
* SharingABody: His soul is bound to Talion's body, and they alternate control as needed. He controls the body in the Wraith World (including the use of his bow, Azkâr), while Talion does so in the normal world.
* ScarsAreForever: In his case, they really are. Despite being nothing but a soul, his face still has the scars he received when [[spoiler: Sauron bashed his face in.]] By ''Shadow of War'', his condition has worsened due to him putting almost all of his life force into the New Ring.
* ShippingTorpedo: Scolds Talion for having romantic thoughts so soon after his wife and son's murders, and also because he's dead and Lithariel isn't.
* TodayXTomorrowTheWorld: When visiting the fort in Lithlad, Celebrimbor says that while the fort isn't strategically important, they must conquer it at some point to hold more power in Mordor -- and beyond.
* SociopathicHero: PlayedWith. In the milennia he's been around after his death, he has become this, as he consider orcs completely disposable, but he wishes to destroy Sauron. However, he also [[spoiler:actively lies to Talion about his missing memory and his true goal. Like the orcs, Talion to him is just a way to reach and defeat Sauron. Until he reveals this, he is arguably a hero. Afterwards, not so much.]]
* TookALevelInJerkass: He's a lot colder and more ruthless in the sequel, to the point of even [[spoiler: leaving Talion to die after he kills Isildur.]] Crafting another Ring of Power certainly had it's downsides.
* TragicHero: [[spoiler: In life, Celebrimbor was an elf prince famed for the beautiful pieces he forged. He was one day visited by a charming elf who convinced him to forge rings of power and distribute them to certain men, elves, and dwarves. Before forging the final and most powerful ring, he realized his patron was actually the Great Deceiver Sauron and sought to use the power of the One Ring to end Sauron's reign of terror and redeem himself, but Sauron had prepared for such a plot and imprisoned the elf prince. Celebrimbor was beaten to death with his own smithing hammer soon after, after watching his wife and child die before him.]] [[spoiler: Celebrimbor the Wraith cannot be called a tragic hero, however. He is something [[TheDarkSideWillMakeYouForget far worse.]]]]
* TyrantTakesTheHelm: [[spoiler:According to Shelob, had Talion stayed with him to the bitter end, this is what would have happened; they would have had their revenge upon Sauron, but at the cost of the Bright Lord becoming a far worse threat than the Dark Lord ever was]].
%%-->'''[[spoiler: Shelob]]''': [[spoiler: When you and Celebrimbor forged a new Ring of Power, I saw where your path ended; locked in battle with Sauron at the summit of Barad-dûr...and you won. Sauron was enslaved and the Bright Lord rose in his place. The armies of Mordor marched forth under his banner and Middle-earth fell under his heel. That is the future I fought against, the future you prevented because you saw Celebrimbor for what he was]].
* UltimateBlacksmith: In addition to his connection to the Forge Towers (activated through striking a spectral anvil with a spectral hammer), he inscribes mystical runes into Talion's weapons and can reforge them after completing enough weapon challenges (''Shadow of Mordor''), or forge a wide variety of weapons/armor/runes based on the enemies Talion's defeated (''Shadow of War''). On a story level, he forged the Rings of Power on Sauron's behalf, inscribed the heat-activated text on the One Ring, and created a New Ring to rival the One Ring (in more ways than one).
* TheUnfettered: In contrast to [[TheFettered Talion]], he is willing to cross ''any'' line to stop Sauron. [[spoiler:[[DrunkWithPower This is not remotely a good thing.]]]]
* UngratefulBastard: Due to his FantasticRacism, he despises the very Orcs who gave him enough power to face Sauron. [[spoiler:When he goes mad with the New Ring's power, he abandons Talion without a second thought once he disobeys him, despite the fact that without Talion's suffering, death and help, the Elf would never have gotten anywhere near Sauron.]]
* UnreliableNarrator: Whenever he recaps his history, his fight with Sauron takes place on a huge battlefield, with massive armies on both sides. In the ''Bright Lord'' DLC, their battle takes place in a relatively small area inside an uruk camp, with only a few captains at his side. Since the playable region has several locations that look more like the area seen in flashbacks, it's likely that Celebrimbor is exaggerating the scale of the fight.
** This is likely more due to limitations with the game engine. The Shadows of the Past sidequests in ''Shadow of War'' reveal that Celebrimbor's operations stretched across all six of the game's playable regions (not counting ''Mordor'''s Bright Lord [=DLC=] story, which takes place in Udûn), and they were extensive enough to have necessitated the creation of barrows in five of those regions.
* VictoryByEndurance: The Blade of Galadriel DLC [[spoiler:implies that he managed to outlive Sauron. Pretty impressive, when you think about the fact that their wills dueled for decades.]]
* VillainProtagonist: [[spoiler:During the FinalBattle with Sauron, he serves as the PlayerCharacter in an {{inverted|trope}} DualBoss alongside [[HeWhoFightsMonsters Eltariel]]. However, Shelob had, not long before, revealed to Talion that if Celebrimbor managed to defeat Sauron, the result would be [[TyrantTakesTheHelm even worse]] than if he loses, making him serve as this instead.]]
* WalkingSpoiler: All that's initially known about the Wraith is that he's a dead elf. Everything else gets revealed later on.
* WarpWhistle: The spectral Forge Towers serve as this for the Wraith, serving as points for respawn, fast-travel, and manually progressing time.
* WeaponizedTeleportation: When the Shadow Strike is unlocked, the Wraith can teleport to a shot arrow and immediately attack the target.
* WingedSoulFliesOffAtDeath: [[spoiler:In the DistantFinale, when Sauron explodes, one of his sparks that fades away is blue; the last remnants of the Wraith.]]
* YouHaveFailedMe: The reason for his below mentioned YouHaveOutlivedYourUsefulness. [[spoiler:Aside from his dismissal, he also seems to view Talion as having failed due to refusing to [[MoralEventHorizon dominate Isildur]], and giving him a MercyKill instead.]]
* YouHaveOutlivedYourUsefulness: [[spoiler:At the end of ''Shadow of War'', Celebrimbor dismisses Talion as nothing but a vessel he no longer has use for after their falling out and gives the New Ring to Eltariel, possessing her and leaving Talion to die.]]
[[/folder]]

[[folder:Eltariel]]
!!Eltariel, the Blade of Galadriel
[[quoteright:274:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/eltariel.jpg]]
[[caption-width-right:274:"Great threats make for unlikely alliances."]]
->Voiced by: Creator/LauraBailey

An elven warrior and assassin in service to Lady Galadriel, sent to fight those corrupted by the power of the rings. The main character of "The Blade of Galadriel" DLC in ''Shadow of War''.
----
* ActionGirl: She has centuries of experience hunting the Nazgul, and has become very adept at killing them. Her EstablishingCharacterMoment shows her fending off several of the Ringwraiths including the Witch-king singlehandedly to save Talion's life. [[spoiler: And during the final battle, she takes on '''Sauron''' herself alongside Celebrimbor]].
* AntiVillain: [[spoiler:She took Celebrimbor's offer because she had became tired of hunting the Nazgúl due to their immortality. Galadriel doesn't allow her to return home before they are dead, and so she felt that dominating Sauron would make her job much easier.]]
* TheBeastmaster: While unable to brand orcs to serve her, she is capable of taming animals like caragors, graugs and drakes though presumably using Galadriel's light to soothe them rather than enslaving them.
* BigDamnHero: Appears out of nowhere to save Talion from being turned into a Ringwraith by the Witch-king.
* ContrastingSequelMainCharacter: While Talion shared his body with someone elses wraith and is completely willing to use slavery to reach his goals, Eltariel's wraith form doesn't say a word, she doesn't like the idea of branding, and [[ArsonMurderAndJaywalking she uses her limited arrows when quick-firing instead of unlimited daggers.]]
* DramaticIrony: [[spoiler:She saves Talion before he is forcibly turned into a Ringwraith. Later, she sides with Celebrimbor, causing Talion to ''willingly'' become one.]]
* DrunkOnTheDarkSide: [[spoiler:When she becomes Celebrimbor's vessel she comments on the power it gives her in an enthusiastic tone and during the fight with Sauron he [[LargeHam shouts about her and Galadriel's power.]]]]
* EnemyMine: Her task is to kill Talion, but the situation forces them to work together. Similarly, her refusal to brand Orcs means that she has to make them cooperate with her out of their own free will.
* EveryoneHasStandards: She is completely willing to kill, even for revenge, but she ''hates'' the idea of [[HeelFaceBrainwashing branding]] since it's basically slavery.
* {{Fingore}}: [[spoiler:Sauron slices Celebrimbor's ring off her hand, losing her index finger - in the same manner he lost the One Ring to Isildur. In the ''Blade of Galadriel'' DLC, she gains fingers made of light after putting Celebrimbor's ring back on]].
* GodzillaThreshold:
** Celebrimbor is shocked that Galadriel would be employing assassins. Eltariel invokes the trope by retorting that things have gotten ''that bad''. Galadriel's tone in the DlC's openong cutscene implies that she is pretty desperate, as she doesn't allow Eltariel to go back to her home until the Nazgúl are dead.
** She hits this herself near the end of the base game when it's shown that [[spoiler:Celebrimbor can actually defeat the Nazgúl but is also on the path to being just as bad as Sauron. Eltariel sides with him over Talion anyway, because she's been trapped in a ForeverWar with the Nazgúl so long that any way out looks good to her.]]
* HairOfGoldHeartOfGold: Played with. While obscured by her hood, she has blonde hair and is one of the good guys devoted to stop Sauron at all costs. [[spoiler:With that said, she throws her lot with an aspirant EvilOverlord such as Celebrimbor in hopes to defeat Sauron and becomes a WellIntentionedExtremist. She deeply regrets this move and works for many years to atone for it]]. Her powers in combat are also more [[LightIsGood benevolent in nature]] (no surprise, given that Lady Galadriel serves as her source) than [[BadPowersGoodPeople Talion's]] despite [[spoiler:wielding Celebrimbor's ring]], she is unwilling to [[BrainwashingForTheGreaterGood brand her enemies]] like him.
* HealThyself: Eltariel has the power to heal her injuries using Galadriel's Radiance, instead of draining her enemies' life force like Talion did.
* HeWhoFightsMonsters:
** Invokes this regarding Talion, fearing what effect the influence of the Ring is having on him and Celebrimbor.
--->'''Eltariel''': I struck down men corrupted by those Rings...do not become one of them.
** [[spoiler: Ironically, this happens to her to a degree, as she helps Celebrimbor discard Talion and willingly becomes the Bright Lord's new host for the sake of striking directly at Sauron]].
* HoldTheLine: Her official purpose. "Stalemate is victory."
* {{Hypocrite}}:
** [[spoiler:Given she spends most of the game wary of Talion and Celebrimbor because of how similar they are to Sauron, it can be pretty jarring that when Talion ultimately turns on Celebrimbor for wanting to become the next Sauron, Eltariel sides with Celebrimbor. How much this was her choice, and how much of this was Celebrimbor corrupting/tempting her with power - of which the New Ring had plenty of too - is unclear.]]
** In her DLC she [[spoiler:urges Talion not to betray who he was and become a Nazgúl. He angrily retorts that she's the one who betrayed him in the first place, which is why he took up Isildur's ring. She acknowledges the truth of this and after defeating him stays in Mordor to do right by him by continuing his fight.]]
* IChooseToStay: [[spoiler:After dispatching Talion in her DLC, she ignores Galadriel's invitation to go West, and remains in Mordor to continue fighting, avenging Talion.]]
* InkSuitActor: She bares more than a passing resemblance to Creator/LauraBailey, her voice actress.
* InTheHood: The only time she doesn't wear one is in the mobile version of ''War'', where she has a long blond ponytail instead.
* ItsAllMyFault: [[spoiler:Throughout her story DLC, she is clearly horrified of what Talion became because of her actions.]]
* ItsPersonal: [[spoiler:After seeing Talion's BackStory when dispatching him, she realizes just ''how much'' Talion sacrificed, and remains in Mordor to continue fighting the Nazgul.]]
* JerkWithAHeartOfGold: Eltariel tends to be dismissive ''at best'' of her orc allies, and should the player choose to, could even betray some of them, she also tends to be a DeadpanSnarker. However when interacting with Talion there can be seen glimmers of regret and she does try to treat him civily.
* LightEmUp: Her gameplay is all about using light for both offensive and defensive purposes, ranging from blinding and killing enemies to healing herself in battle.
* LongRangeFighter: While she's no less capable in close range, her ranged attacks are far more potent than Talion's, allowing her to blind groups of enemies with a cone of light and quickly executing them with bolts of light that can be upgraded to chain to multiple targets.
* MercyKill: [[spoiler:She "kills" Talion as one, though he eventually returns as a full-fledged Nazgul later.]]
* MyGodWhatHaveIDone:
** [[spoiler:When she realizes that Talion became one of the nine Nazgúl because of her actions.]]
** [[spoiler:Seeing Talion's memories and realizing how her actions not only led to the above, they turned a man who was trying to exact revenge on Sauron for killing his family into one of his servants.]]
* MyGreatestFailure: [[spoiler:Her decision to take the New Ring from Celebrimbor after Talion refuses to continue the assault. She took it because they were so close to victory, and refusing his offer would get their entire army destroyed, making Talion's death a pointless one. She ends up regretting this moment for a long time, especially after she finds out [[MonsterFromBeyondTheVeil happened to Talion]]]].
* NiceJobBreakingItHero:
** In Act 3, it is implied that part of the reason Eltariel never turned to dark magic to combat Sauron was not only because she knew it would corrupt her, but because she did not honestly believe it would work anyway. Talion and Celebrimbor defeating [[spoiler: Isildur]] once and for all ironically seems to convince her that making a DealWithTheDevil might be worth it after all.
** Averted through sheer dumb luck more than anything else. [[spoiler:Shelob states that if Celebrimbor were to be victorious he would become worse than Sauron. Eltariel tries to help Celebrimbor triumph over Sauron but ultimately fails without Talion's help.]]
** [[spoiler:Accepting Celebrimbor's offer and abandoning Talion had the side-effect of Talion picking up Isildur's ring and becoming a ringwraith; and thus is now one of her targets. As she seems to consider him a friend, her mission is now even harder than before.]]
* NoBodyLeftBehind: The light of Galadriel can vaporize orcs if they are affected by it for too long. Yes, even captains.
* PowerPalms: The "Light of Galadriel", which has the same source as the Phial of Galadriel given to [[Literature/TheLordOfTheRings Frodo]] that she wields is contained in a device attached to her left hand. She can use it to create a barrier of holy light, or fire beams capable of blinding and disintegrating enemies.
* PragmaticHero: She's clearly not happy about working with Talion and Celebrimbor, but acknowledges Sauron is a far greater threat.
-->'''Celebrimbor''': Since when does Galadriel work with assassins?
-->'''Eltariel''': [[EnemyMine Great threats make for unlikely alliances]]. [[NotSoDifferent You know this better than most]].
* PromotedToPlayable: A ''Shadow of War'' story DLC will have players assuming her identity.
* ReassignedToAntarctica: Implied. Eltariel has been effectively banished until she can kill the Nazgúl, who cannot actually die. [[spoiler:Eventually Galadriel takes pity on her and lets her come home without completing her mission.]]
* SadisticChoice: [[spoiler:Either accept Celebrimbor's offer to act as his host to fight Sauron or stay trapped in a bleak ForeverWar with the Nazgúl. It's no wonder she went with the former.]]
* SequelHook: [[spoiler:Eltariel lives to see the destruction of Sauron, but senses that Celebrimbor's spirit is now freed and he is calling to her]].
* SlaveryIsASpecialKindOfEvil: Unlike Talion, Eltariel dislikes branding orcs to serve her, equating this to slavery. Therefore, she is unable to do so in gameplay and has to bolster her forces using [[KlingonPromotion other methods]].
* ThisCannotBe: [[spoiler: In the ''Blade of Galadriel'' DLC, this is essentially Eltariel's reaction to Galadriel telling her that Talion is still alive, albeit now as one of the Ringwraiths]].
-->'''Galadriel''': [[spoiler: Look to Minas Morgul, and the Nazgûl who dwells within it. You know the one of whom I speak]].
-->'''Eltariel''': [[spoiler: He died. I took the New Ring and left him to die!]]
-->'''Galadriel''': [[spoiler: He now wears the ring of Isildur. [[ThatManIsDead He belongs to the Dark Lord]].]]
* TrueSight: Thanks to The Light of Galadriel, or simply due to being a powerful enough Elf[[labelnote:lore]]Elves exist in the Physical and Wraith Worlds[[/labelnote]], she can see Celebrimbor.
* UncertainDoom: [[spoiler:Her ultimate fate is unknown as she is last seen with her hand mutilated by Sauron watching as he absorbs Celebrimbor and the two become the flaming eye on Barad-dur. The story DLC adds to her story, according to which she outlived Sauron, but it's implied that the New Ring has had an effect on her, before the DLC ends with a SequelHook]].
* WellIntentionedExtremist: [[spoiler: Eltariel ends up becoming Celebrimbor's vessel after she finds out he could put Sauron's reign to a permanent end by dominating him, despite the possibility of him also becoming a dangerous tyrant. She deeply regrets this.]]
* WhoAreYou: After she kills Talion -- and he returns -- she's very curious about what kind of person he is, and what it's like to be unable to die.
* YouCantGoHomeAgain: Galadriel doesn't allow her to return to her home until the Nazgúl are dead. Since they keep coming back, this is harder that Galadriel seems to realize. [[spoiler:Ultimately, she ''can'' return home after she defeats [[FallenHero Talion]] in combat, but decides not to, and to instead continue to face the forces of the Dark Lord.]]
[[/folder]]

[[folder:Baranor]]
!!Baranor
[[quoteright:350:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/baranor.jpg]]
->Voiced by: Ike Amadi

A Gondorian captain of Haradian origin, Baranor is second-in-command of the defence of the besieged city of Minas Ithil. Recognizing Talion's superior combat prowess and experience with fighting the armies of Mordor, Baranor tends to [[NumberTwo place himself at the Ranger's disposal]] whenever their paths happen to cross. Some time after the fall of Minas Ithil, Baranor makes his way to the eastern desert of Lithlad, where he's playable in ''Shadow of War'''s "The Desolation of Mordor" DLC.
----
* ADayInTheLimelight: Baranor was something of a sidekick in the base game campaign, but the Desolation of Mordor DLC gives him a chance to shine.
* AndNowForSomethingCompletelyDifferent: He is playable in his own DLC, and since he has no wraith abilities or magical rings, he relies on gadgetry and hired mercenaries.
* BadassBaritone: Comes with being voiced by Ike Amadi.
* BadassInDistress: [[spoiler:Is captured by a duo of Warchiefs after the fall of Minas Ithil.]]
* BadassNormal: Unlike the other playable characters, Baranor has no magical powers of any sort. Nonetheless, he has his own ways of compensating.
* BowAndSwordInAccord: Is seen skillfully wielding a sword as well as a bow. During his own DLC this is seen to its fullest extent, as with the gauntlet Baranor can accurately target and take out Uruk targets at lightning quick speeds.
* ChainPain: The thing can cut full grown Uruk clean in half!
* ContrastingSequelMainCharacter: He's a playable {{Muggle}} in a series where you mass-slaughter orcs with superpowers.
* {{Expy}}: Of Franchise/{{Batman}}. Specifically, gameplay-wise, of VideoGame/BatmanArkhamSeries, with the same grapple, gliding, and so on. While Talion heavily borrowed ''Arkham's'' combat, the ''Desolation of Mordor'' DLC removes the fantastic elements and uses the same gadget-based gameplay to make it resemble an ''Arkham'' game even more.
* FinalDeath: A variation; due to his lack of ResurrectiveImmortality, if he dies in his DLC then everything save for story progress and skill upgrades are reset.
* FireForgedFriends:
** Downplayed with Talion. The two are definitely BashBrothers, but from Baranor’s perspective, he and the garrison at Minas Ithil were on their last legs when a strange Ranger with bizarre supernatural powers suddenly showed up and offered his support to the defenders, and Baranor didn't ask questions.
** Played straight with Serka[[spoiler:, who also happens to be his [[LongLostRelative long-lost older brother]]]]. The two get off on the wrong foot almost immediately: Baranor is disgusted that Serka is willing to [[ChronicBackstabbingDisorder (pretend to)]] work for the Orcs who are pillaging Baranor’s adoptive home, and Baranor’s sabotage of the loot trail gets him [[WhatTheHellHero chewed out by Serka]]. A subsequent infiltration/fact-finding mission in Shindram ends with Baranor [[SoMuchForStealth blowing up the overlord’s grog barrel while he’s standing next to it]], causing Serka to accuse Baranor of being a DeathSeeker. Things start turning around after Baranor saves Serka from the Circus, and by the end, Serka proudly stands alongside Baranor as the Vanishing Sons besiege Shindram.
* GivenNameReveal: [[spoiler: Early on in ''The Desolation of Mordor'' it is revealed his true Haradrim name was Warad.]]
* HappilyAdopted: According to his background, Baranor was born in Harad, but adopted by a wealthy family in Minas Ithil and that in time, he came to think of the city as his home.
* HeadSwap: Unlike Eltariel, Baranor's playable skin just replaces Talion's head and arms in the main game.
* HyperCompetentSidekick: To General Castamir. Since Castamir leads from the rear [[spoiler:and is secretly plotting with the Witch-king]], it falls to Baranor to co-ordinate the defences.
* ImpliedLoveInterest: He is very close to Idril. Due to his reaction when he finds out she is still alive, it's implied that he has some sort of crush on her. Their romance is confirmed [[AllThereInTheManual in her bio]] in the ''Desolation of Mordor'' DLC.
* InstantExpert: He doesn't seem to need any training to utilize his SuperWristGadget or any of its various upgrades. Perhaps Númenórean technology is just ''that'' intuitive.
* KillItWithFire: Quite a lot of his arsenal revolves around this, such as flame arrows, bombs and a flaming shield.
* KnowWhenToFoldThem: [[spoiler: When the Witch-king's army storms the city, Talion orders Baranor to retreat and save his men. Baranor doesn't argue]].
* LongLostRelative: [[spoiler: It is quickly revealed in the Desolation of Mordor DLC that the leader of the Vanishing Sons Mercenaries is his long lost brother Jagai who has changed his name to Serka]].
* OfficialCouple: With Idril, as confirmed on her bio in ''Desolation of Mordor'' DLC.
* PromotedToPlayable: He is set to be a playable character in the Desolation of Mordor DLC.
* RagtagBunchOfMisfits: Downplayed. After the fall of Minas Ithil, Baranor leads a band of surviving Gondorian soldiers to harass the enemy and rescue any captives they can find.
* StraightMan: Plays something of this role for his LargeHam [[spoiler: older brother Serka]].
* SuperWristGadget: In the Desolation of Mordor DLC, he carries a multi-purpose gadget that functions as a shield, a grappling hook and an arm-mounted crossbow to compensate for his lack of magical abilities.
* ShieldBash: One of Baranor's most powerful abilities with his Númenórean gear allowing him to steamroll everything in his path. Some augments allow Baranor to also set people on fire as he bashes.
* TokenMinority: Seems to be the only Man of Minas Ithil of non-Westernesse stock, though this is explained by his adoption at a young age. Averted when he meets up with his brother Serka, and introduces the Easterlings, who are a swarthy race of Men whose society recall the nomadic Steppe people of Russia and Central Asia.
* UncertainDoom: [[spoiler:He stays by Idril's side even when they know that standing their ground in Mordor will lead to certain death and is last seen marching towards it with her]].
** [[spoiler:This is technically his fate at the end of the Desolation of Mordor [=DLC=] as well, but it ends one a much more upbeat note.]]
* YouTalkTooMuch: Mutters this trope verbatim to himself, [[PreAsskickingOneLiner referring to Lithlad's overlord, right before he blows up the grog barrel that's sitting beside him.]]
[[/folder]]

!!Allies - Introduced in ''Mordor''

[[folder:Gollum]]
!!Gollum
[[quoteright:350:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/gollum_7.jpg]]
[[caption-width-right:350:''"The Bright Master is kind!"'']]
->Voiced by: Creator/LiamOBrien

A terrifying, pitiful creature that used to be a Hobbit, centuries of exposure to the One Ring have mutated Gollum and given him a burning desire to always be with his "Precious." He assists the "Bright Lord" and Talion by retrieving artifacts that help the former remember who he is, and thus, bring him closer to reuniting with the One Ring.
----
* BigDamnHero: In ''War'', he attacks an Olog who is about to crush Talion. The Olog makes quick work of him, but it's the opening Talion needs to retaliate.
* TheCameo: [[spoiler:His voice is briefly heard during the GoldenEnding when the One Ring is destroyed by him accidentally]].
* ContinuityNod: Gollum is Shelob's minion in ''Shadow of War'', which {{Foreshadow}}s his actions in the books.
* DeadpanSnarker: Gets in a few jabs at Talion while singing a tune on the way to recover an artifact.
* FairWeatherFriend: Gollum hides when Uruks and Caragors come around, [[spoiler:and tries to bash Talion's head in when he learns Celebrimbor also wants the Ring for himself]]. In the sequel, he returns as a minion of Shelob, who he refers to as the Dark Mistress.
* {{Hobbits}}: Gollum was once a once a Stoor Hobbit who lived on the banks of the Anduin River, but 500 years of exposure to the One Ring's power have changed him into a monster.
* SplitPersonality: His two sides bicker occasionally, but the schism between the two isn't as emphasized as it usually is.
* TrueSight: Due to his bond with the One Ring, Gollum can see into the Wraith World.
* WasOnceAMan: Poor Smeagol was a Hobbit until a certain gold ring came along.

[[/folder]]

[[folder:Ratbag]]
!!Ratbag the Coward
[[quoteright:350:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/orc.jpg]]
[[caption-width-right:350:''"Ummm, backstabbing bodyguard! Eh?"'']]
->Voiced by: Creator/PhilLaMarr

An ambitious but useless excuse of an orc, Ratbag attempts to advance through the ranks of Uruk society via [[KlingonPromotion underhanded means]] but consistently fails due to his complete lack of combat prowess. After Talion rescues him (against the Ranger's better judgment), he teaches him "the ways of the orc" with how promotions and power struggles work; in return, Talion gets him installed as a Warchief. While seemingly executed by one of the Black Captains, Ratbag winds up becoming the Overlord of Núrnen in ''Shadow of War'', whereupon he and Talion cross paths again.
----
* AchievementsInIgnorance: According to his Appendix entry, one of the reasons Ratbag became an Overlord was self-delusion and inability to realize what he was incapable of.
* AscendedExtra: Ratbag originally started out as simply one of the possible generated orcs in the initial demo of the game for the purposes of highlighting the Nemesis system. In the game proper, he's been promoted to an actual story character.
** [[UpToEleven And he made it into the next game as well!]] [[spoiler:[[BeyondTheImpossible And survived it too!]]]]
* AnythingButThat: [[spoiler: In ''Shadow of War'', Ratbag has gotten tired of being Overlord, after realizing just how tiring it is to feed, train and make sure you don't killed by your troops. Then Brûz announces that HE's the new Overlord and Ratbag does a whole one-eighty turn, loudly declaring that Brûz cann't be Overlord]]. [[SitcomArchNemesis Only the Valar know why Ratbag is opposed to that idea.]]
* BigGuyLittleGuy: [[spoiler:In ''Shadow of War'', he's basically the Master part of the game's [[Film/MadMaxBeyondThunderdome Master Blaster]] in the first Overlord mission. The "two headed Uruk" is actually just him atop a really big Olog.]]
** BrainsAndBrawn: [[spoiler: Ratbag sees himself as this in his relationship with Ranger. In truth, Ranger is actually quite articulate and intelligent (almost certainly moreso than Ratbag), but since he doesn't speak Common and Ratbag doesn't speak Black Speech, Ratbag can't understand a word he says and just assumes Ranger is typical DumbMuscle.]]
* BodyHorror: [[DownplayedTrope Far from the worse ailment among the Uruks]], but Ratbag has a grotesquely large case of [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Skull_bossing Skull Bossing]]. [[spoiler: It somehow gets worse in Shadow of War.]]
* BornLucky: According to his Appendix entry, his biggest superpower. It's the reason despite being the scrawniest Uruk whom nobody likes due to his MotorMouth, he survives and even thrives. Think of his being brained by The Hammer -- had he ''not'' been knocked into the next land, he'd have been BrainwashedAndCrazy, with Talion likely being forced to kill him off.
* ButtMonkey:
** Gets absolutely zero respect from ''anybody''. This is reflected in his power rating when Captain or Warchief, as his is far lower than freshly appointed Captains who haven't even tried to increase their power. The only captains that start out as weak as Ratbag are the ones specifically called Weak or Timid as their titles.
** One of his anecdotes involve Ratbag being thrown into a caragor pit for the other uruks' amusement. The caragor, instead of ripping the runt limb from limb, proceeded to bat Ratbag around like a ball of yarn.
* CharacterDevelopment: Ratbag started out desperately wanting to become a Warchief, and it gets him (nearly) killed. By the events of ''War'', Ratbag has actually promoted himself beyond Warchief as an Overlord, but realizes it's LonelyAtTheTop, isn't fond of KlingonPromotion, and has matured to valuing friends over power. He's still a MotorMouth, though.
* CowardlySidekick: Ends up serving as this to Talion, much to the ranger's chagrin.
* ClimacticBattleResurrection: [[spoiler:If the player brands all captains and warchiefs in both regions before playing the Lord of Mordor mission, Ratbag will appear in the mission's opening battle to give a rousing speech to Sauron's forces. As seen in this video [[https://youtu.be/Wv5TRD47jeE?t=3m41s here]].]]
* DefectorFromDecadence: While he shares his race's more violent tendencies, such as being a NightmareFetishist and InLoveWithYourCarnage and engaging in KlingonPromotion, he and Ranger prove that Orcs really ''aren't'' AlwaysChaoticEvil. He actually learns empathy and compassion for others, at least other Orcs and Ologs.
* DidntThinkThisThrough: Every step of Ratbag's planned ascension goes awry. He gets no respect from his underlings, insufficient respect to even be properly faced in a duel, trying to become the bodyguard of a warchief after (allegedly) killing said warchief's ''twin''...oh, and [[spoiler:failing to recognize that being the only warchief alive while Talion runs wild would draw the ire of his superiors.]]
* DumbassHasAPoint: When Talion shows reluctance to waste time and effort trying to free Ranger, Ratbag [[WhatTheHellHero calls him out]], [[SelfServingMemory claiming that he and Ranger somehow got rid of Brûz]] and asking why they or any other Orc in his service should support him if he won't do the same for them. Celebrimbor admits that Ratbag has a point; they will lose the loyalty of their followers if they don't prove that attacks on the Bright Lord's soldiers won't go unpunished. Humorously, Ratbag ''himself'' doesn't seem terribly convinced with his own argument:
-->'''Talion''': You ''may'' have a point.
-->'''Ratbag''': I do? ({{Beat}}) I mean, yeah, I do!
* EmbarrassingNickname: "the Coward," Ratbag's sobriquet, which also describes him quite accurately. He seems to have managed to drop it for good in ''Shadow of War'', even after his survival becomes common knowledge in Mordor; appropriately, this coincides with his [[TookALevelInBadass taking a level in badass]] as mentioned below.
* EvenEvilHasStandards: Even though he is a member of the resident ChaoticEvil race, he seems horrified to see what happened to Brûz [[spoiler:after Talion/Celebrimbor completely breaks him -- though he also may just be in awe at Talion's ability to break minds]].
* FireForgedFriends: [[spoiler:With Talion and Ranger. While neither initially ''like'' him (the former is just using him to get to the Black Hand while the latter owes him a life debt), both soon learn to appreciate him. Ranger even likes him in a gruff way. Part of it is that Ratbag is TooFunnyToBeEvil and a HarmlessVillain, and the other part is that Ratbag learns loyalty in a world of KlingonPromotion.]]
* GoodScarsEvilScars: In ''Shadow of War'', careful eyes will notice the massive scar that has stitches down the right side of his face. To listen to Ratbag, it was a love tap, but the wound indicates the entire side of Ratbag's face was split open like a cantelope. IronButtMonkey indeed.
* HiddenDepths:
** Ratbag has always been completely hopeless in combat, and he always will be (bear in mind that this guy cowers when confronted by ''grunts''); however, he's a good tracker and decent at stealth, and in ''Shadow of War'', his skills prove to be useful in [[spoiler:locating the missing Ranger and enabling Talion to get the drop on Brûz]].
** He's also a surprisingly good and loyal friend. [[spoiler: He is utterly dedicated to getting Ranger back after the Olog is captured and is one of the only Orcs to be loyal to Talion without being dominated.]]
* IOweYouMyLife: [[spoiler:Ranger, the Olog whom Ratbag teams with, doesn't like him at all -- but honors a life debt to Ratbag.]]
* IResembleThatRemark: When [[spoiler: Bruz tries to block his way to Talion and disparages him as a whinger, Ratbag reacts... by whinging.]]
* InLoveWithYourCarnage: Anyone's carnage. Even though he despises Brûz and admires Talion, for instance, [[InnocentlyInsensitive he still gleefully recounts the way Bruz impaled Talion during his betrayal]] -- [[TooDumbToLive in front of Talion]]. It seems to be standard for most Orcs, though.
* IronButtMonkey: Yes, he's a tool. Yes, he's pitiful. Yes, he has zero friends. [[spoiler: And yet he can take a swing from ''Sauron's own mace'', yet receive nothing worse than a short-term blackout and a headache - and an absolutely ''massive'' head wound.]]
* {{Irony}}: In a game about branding and control, Ratbag is the only Uruk Captain Talion ''didn't'' brand over the course of two games.
* JerkWithAHeartOfGold: Ratbag might be a slimy coward, but genuinely cares for those he considers his friends, like Talion and Ranger.
* KlingonPromotion: He progresses through Orc society by getting Talion to kill his enemies.
* KnowWhenToFoldEm: [[spoiler:Ratbag quickly cedes being Overlord to Talion. Partly because he hates the job, and also knows he wouldn't survive the fight anyway.]]
* LetMeAtHim: [[spoiler: When Brûz kidnaps Ranger, Ratbag insists and insists on hunting him down on his own when he and Talion hit a dead end searching for them. He seems all set to enter a RoaringRampageOfRevenge to fully realize his CharacterDevelopment in the sequel... until he checks himself and says he'll come and fetch Talion when he finally locates the two Ologs.]]
* MadeOfIron: [[spoiler:Considering how puny he is for an orc, turns out he survived being hit by ''Sauron's Hammer'' and was only knocked out. He even [[LampshadeHanging lampshades]] the whole incident by saying the only proper way to kill an orc, is to slice his head clean off; works every time. Well, ''most'' of the time]].
* MoleInCharge: He's eventually promoted to Warchief thanks to Talion slaying his rivals and serves as his first Orc at the top.
* MotorMouth: Primarily the reason other Orcs and Uruks dislike him.
* NotBrainwashed: Having been bullied by the other orcs so often, and having seen Talion in action, Ratbag is well aware that remaining in the Ranger's good graces is objectively his best option. By the time of ''Shadow of War'', Ratbag genuinely considers Talion to be a friend and interacts with him on the basis of their relationship rather than ambition; in fact, he's just the opposite of ambitious by then.
* NotQuiteDead: [[spoiler:Ratbag turns out to be alive in ''Shadow of War'', having only been knocked out by the Hammer in the previous game. He explains that only decapitation can really make sure a orc stays dead]].
* OhCrap: When his minions throw him in front of the Hammer of Sauron to explain why he's the only Warchief in Udûn who's still alive.
* PetTheDog: In ''Shadow of War'', it is shown that he genuinely cares about his Olog-hai friend whom he named "Ranger", and even asks Talion to rescue him. Furthermore it shows Ratbag ''genuinely'' cares for Talion in his own way.
* ScarilyCompetentTracker: [[DownplayedTrope Downplayed]] in ''Shadow of War'', since Tracker is an advanced class in the Nemesis System and particularly persistent Nemeses are capable of hunting Talion across regions, but Ratbag gets a chance to show off his tracking chops [[spoiler:when Brûz kidnaps Ranger and he tracks the two all over Mordor]].
* ScarsAreForever: [[spoiler: Has a tangle of prominent black stitches on his right temple likely where his skull was caved in by the Hammer.]]
* ScrewThisImOutOfHere: [[spoiler:He and Ranger end up deserting Talion in horror over Brûz's Shaming.]]
* ShooOutTheClowns: He and Ranger vanish from the game just before it becomes noticeably DarkerAndEdgier.
* ShootTheMessenger: [[spoiler: Ratbag is on the ''giving'' end of this trope against all odds in Shadow of War.]]
* SitcomArchNemesis: He [[spoiler: and Ranger ''hate'' the idea of answering to Bruz, and the resulting argument between the three gets them all in hot water with Talion.]] Why they hate each other is never elaborated on, though their first reactions to each other makes it seem that have met each other before.
* SkeletonsInTheCoatCloset: He wears a ribcage with a collar of tusks as a cuirass, for starters.
* ThirdPersonPerson: He usually refers to himself in the third person.
* TookALevelInBadass: A small one in [[spoiler:''Shadow of War'', but he backs down a lot less and gives bolder and more intelligent comments and suggestions compared to the first game. He also at one point manages to overpower and decapitate a messenger grunt out of anger.]]
* UndyingLoyalty: [[spoiler:To Ranger. While one might think Ratbag's afraid of losing a very big bodyguard, he genuinely cares about Ranger as a friend.]]
** It's also worth noting that Ratbag is the also the only Orc in either game to serve Talion without being Dominated, [[spoiler: and in ''War'' he actually looks up to and considers himself friendly with Talion.]]
* UnfazedEveryman: Traces of it creep into his characterization [[spoiler: in the second game. Being nearly crushed by Bruz only sees him take exception to the insults he throws at him. Talion holding his sword to his throat only cows him for a second before he gets distracted reminiscing about being Overlord. Surviving a full-force blow with the mace of Sauron seems to have knocked all sense of caution and insecurity out of the little blighter.]]
* WeNamedTheMonkeyJack: [[spoiler:Ratbag named his Olog teammate "Ranger", after Talion.]]
* YouHaveFailedMe: [[spoiler:He is supposedly killed by The Hammer for allowing Talion to destroy the Gorthaur in the first game, but he turns out to have survived in ''Shadow of War''.]]
* YouWouldntShootMe: Failed example, sort of - Talion first finds Ratbag bound, and Ratbag offers to "tell him everything". Talion responds by placing his broken blade to Ratbag's chin. Ratbag yells at him to go ahead, because he'll know nothing if it does. Talion calls his bluff by suggesting he'll grant the request, quickly causing Ratbag to sputter a RapidFireNo and say he was jesting. Talion, of course, lets Ratbag live, but it certainly wasn't because of Ratbag's attempt at bravado.

[[/folder]]

[[folder:Hirgon]]
!!Hirgon of Tarnost
->Voiced by: Creator/TravisWillingham

A former Ranger of Gondor, Hirgon used to serve at the Black Gates until he met the Outcasts, stubborn, resourceful folk who made a living out of Mordor in spite of its harsh and brutal nature.
----
* BullyingADragon: As it turns out, [[spoiler:blowing up The Gorthaur, a giant statue of Sauron, only served to get the Hammer of Sauron to personally attack his men.]]
* GoingNative: He first showed mercy and sympathy towards an Outcast woman, then fell in love with her. After she saved his life after he abandoned his post to join her, he was adopted by the Outcasts and married her. Though he's a Ranger from Gondor, he considers the Outcasts his people now.
* HappilyMarried: To Eryn.
* MadeASlave: After Talion kills Gimûb the Slaver while looking for a slave who fought the Black Hand, Hirgon shows up and revealed that it was he (and that it was more "fled from" than "fought"). He had apparently been in the possession of the random Uruk who attacked Talion, being sold to Gimûb for a keg of grog.
* ReasonableAuthorityFigure: Despite being introduced as fairly unreliable. While he's never happy to hear Talion's dour predictions, he always listens to them. [[spoiler: It's ultimately implied to save his life, and the lives of his followers.]]
* RebelLeader: For the Outcasts.
* ScrewThisImOutOfHere: Used to be a Ranger like Talion before deserting and joining the Outcasts. [[spoiler:Talion encourages him to do this again after destroying the Gorthaur, as his adopted people stood no chance against the Hammer.]]

[[/folder]]

[[folder:Lithariel]]
!!Lithariel
->Voiced by: Abigail Marlowe

Adopted daughter of Lady Marwen and first in line to her throne, she informs Talion of her mother's visions and assist him in several other affairs.
----
* ActionGirl: She's capable enough to handle several Uruks and emerge unscathed.
* DefiantCaptive: [[spoiler:She doesn't tell the Tower anything, ''literally'' [[DidYouJustFlipOffCthulhu spitting in his face]] when he demands to know where Talion is.]]
* DistressedDamsel: [[spoiler:She gets captured by the Tower and tortured to the point that Talion has to carry her out.]]
* HappilyAdopted: As an infant, she was the only survivor of a trade ship attacked by a Tribesman raid, Lady Marwen adopting her afterwards.
* PromotedToPlayable: She's playable in the Power of Defiance DLC.
* ShipTease: She develops feelings for Talion, but the Wraith [[ShippingTorpedo scolds him for even thinking about reciprocating them so soon after his wife's death, especially since he's undead and she isn't]].
* UncertainDoom: [[spoiler:She was ready to evacuate her people out of Nurnen in the first game, but when Talion checks her hideout has been ransacked by orcs with signs of fighting, yet no bodies were found. Its unknown what became of Lithariel and her mother when Talion returns to Nurnen in the second game, going as far as to ask their fate]].
* UnrequitedLove: While it's obvious her and Talion have some romantic feelings toward one another, The Wraith's [[MomentKiller interference]] (Described in ShipTease above) as well as Talion's insistence on fighting the Black Hand render her into this. The very last verbal interaction she has with him makes it obvious [[UnresolvedSexualTension she's bitter about it]].

[[/folder]]

[[folder:Lady Marwen]]
!!Lady Marwen
->Voiced by: Creator/ClaudiaBlack

"Queen of the Shore," she leads the tribesmen of Nurnen, serving as a guide, a leader, and a visionary for their society.
----
* MyGodWhatHaveIDone: [[spoiler: Exhibits this after being freed from Saruman's control, realising that her attempts to get help from the White Wizard resulted in her being turned into his puppet and left her people less than ready to face Sauron's growing power]].
* PirateGirl: Her backstory includes a quest for glory as a pirate queen, raiding in hopes of rebuilding the Corsair empire, until she adopted Lithariel and settled down in Nurnen.
* {{Seer}}: Her visions help in guiding the Wraith to uncovering his past and unlocking his powers.
* SmallRoleBigImpact: She gives Talion and Celebrimbor the idea of forming a [[MindControl mind-controlled]] army.
* YoungerThanTheyLook: [[spoiler:Courtesy of being Saruman's MeatPuppet like King Theoden. When released, she loses a lot of wrinkles and her hair regains its black colour.]]

[[/folder]]


[[folder:Torvin]]
!!Torvin
->Voiced by: Adam Croasdell

A Dwarf hunter, he's either outstandingly courageous, incredibly stupid, or a mix of both. He used to hunt with his brother, taking down a number of violent and dangerous beasts together, until a rare, incredibly deadly horned Graug proved too much for them and took the life of his hunting partner. For over a decade he's sought vengeance, even training Talion so that he may stand a chance of hunting the beast.
----
* BadassNormal: The orcs have been trying and failing to tame and ride Caragors for seemingly years. Talion can only do it because the Wraith has mind-control superpowers. Torvin can do it because he's ''just that awesome'', and is impressed that Talion managed to break in a Caragor in the same amount of time it took him his first time, again with no superpowers whatsoever.
* BadassBeard: In a rare [[AvertedTrope aversion]] ([[OurDwarvesAreAllTheSame for a dwarf]]), he instead merely sports a rather tame pair of mutton chops and some PermaStubble.
* TheBigGuy: He's certainly got the personality. He's also ''huge'' for a Dwarf, being less than half a foot shorter than Talion.
* TheBusCameBack: By the time of the Desolation of Mordor DownloadableContent, Torvin's back in Mordor, having heard rumors of a gargantuan were-wyrm lurking under the sands of Lithlad.
* ButtMonkey: Only in his background, though, due to having a mildly-abrasive older brother[[note]]Torvin was used as bait for one monster the pair hunted, and his brother depicted him acting as a coward in another fight[[/note]].
* GadgeteerGenius: In the Desolation of Mordor DLC, Torvin is something of a [[Franchise/JamesBond Q]] for Baranor. While he doesn't ''invent'' anything per se, he managed to reverse-engineer the Númenórean gauntlet and create a duplicate, which is why he gave the original to Baranor. He also repairs the broken pieces of Númenórean kit that Baranor finds scattered around Lithlad and uses them to upgrade Baranor's gauntlet.
* GeniusBruiser: Say what you will about his intelligence [[BookDumb in some senses]], but he ''definitely'' knows a good deal about hunting. And gadgetry.
* InformedFlaw: He makes self-deprecating jokes about the size of his gut, and Talion joins in to humor Torvin, though his stomach's as flat as a board. Torvin likely knows this, [[InvokedTrope but how often has had he had hunting partners to banter with?]]
* MrFanservice: He's a Dwarf, but in damned good shape.
* MyGreatestFailure: [[spoiler: Is indicated that he feels his brother's death to be this, as Torvin believes had he heeded his brother's teaching on hunting, he might not have made the arrogant mistake that got his brother killed]].
* OurDwarvesAreAllTheSame:
** Averted in ''Shadow of Mordor''. Torvin is a hunter, rather than a miner, craftsman, and/or warrior like all the other Dwarves in Middle-earth.
** Played somewhat straight in ''Shadow of War'', which reveals that Torvin is a GadgeteerGenius.
* PhysicalScarsPsychologicalScars: He has a bunch of scars from his hunting days, but his two most prominent scars came from [[spoiler:the Legendary Graug that killed his brother.]]
* PutOnABus: Torvin returns to his homeland after having defeated the Great White Graug and the completion of ''Lord of the Hunt'' DLC, which explains his absence from the second game when Talion and Celebrimbor return to Nurnen. However, see TheBusCameBack above.
* WalkingShirtlessScene: He's constantly bare-chested, exposing his muscles and his scars.
* WhyDidItHaveToBeSnakes: Torvin has something approaching love for caragors, and even bears great respect for graugs. He respects and is in awe of all creatures of nature, even those of Mordor...except ghûls. He can't ''stand'' gh;ucirc;ls. When he speaks of them, he makes it clear that even the thought of the crawling creatures makes him want to scrub the inside of his skin. [[spoiler:He's very hesitant -- and later nauseated -- when he comes up with the idea of having Talion control them.]]
* YouKeepUsingThatWord: Torvin hasn't really had much book learning (though he's a suspiciously good writer). During his conversations with Talion in the ''Lord of the Hunt'' DLC, he comes to believe that 'redundant' means 'poisonous' and 'hypocritical' means 'brilliant.' Talion never bothers to correct him; [[ItAmusedMe it's not hard to guess why]].

[[/folder]]

[[folder:Galadriel]]
!!Galadriel
->Voiced by: Creator/JenniferHale
[[quoteright:350:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/galadriel_sow.jpg]]
[[caption-width-right:350:The Dark Lord and the Bright Lord are one.]]
"Lady of Light" and bearer of the Elven ring Nenya, she provides the narration at the beginning of the game, and narrates "The Bright Lord" DLC. She gets a bigger role in the second game as an ally to Eltariel during the ''Blade of Galadriel'' DLC.
----
* TheCameo: Makes an appearance in one of the Wraith's flashbacks in ''Shadow of Mordor''.
* GoodCounterpart: To Celebrimbor. [[spoiler:She also serves as a voice in Eltariel's mind in the same way he was to Talion's. However, Galadriel is firmly on the side of good rather than being a KnightTemplar like Celebrimbor]].
* GoodIsNotNice: She can be very brusque and critical of Eltariel's decisions during her DLC campaign, but that is because she has Middle-Earth's wellbeing in mind. She also forbids her servant from returning home until she had completed her quest, [[spoiler:but allows her to do so even when it appears Talion is still not dead]].
* LightIsGood: Her main power, which she provides as source to Eltariel's.
* OpeningNarration: Provides this as shadow literally falls upon the Black Gate.
* Really700YearsOld: Well over 7000 years old by the time of the game.
* NoCelebritiesWereHarmed: She is modeled closely after Creator/CateBlanchett's interpretation of the characters from the Peter Jackson films.
* RiddleForTheAges: Why did Galadriel tell Eltariel she could leave Mordor and go to the West after dispatching [[spoiler:Talion]]?
* TheUnseen: Until the "Blade of Galadriel" DLC, where she finally appears in a vision of Eltariel. Even then, she spends most of her time as TheVoice.
* WhatTheHellHero:
** Most of the Bright Lord DLC has her admonishing Celebrimbor for taking possession of the One Ring and forsaking all else to take Sauron's place.
** She chastises Elteriel in the "Blade of Galadriel" DLC for forgetting her job wasn't to destroy Sauron, but to go after the Nazgul.
[[/folder]]

!! Allies - Introduced in ''War''

[[folder:Shelob]]
!Shelob
[[quoteright:350:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/shelob_human.jpg]]
[[caption-width-right:350:''As a human.'']]

[[quoteright:350:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/shelob_spider.jpg]]
[[caption-width-right:350:''As a spider.'']]
->Voiced by: Pollyanna [=McIntosh=]

A monstrous spider-like creature who dwells in the Mountains of Shadow near Minas Ithil/Morgul.

----
* AdaptationalAttractiveness: Shelob can shapeshift into a human female form in this game to communicate with other beings, whereas in the books, its never established if she could actually change forms.
* AdaptationalBadass: In the books, Shelob was sentient but couldn't care less about Sauron, who refers to her as his "cat" - a creature that isn't entirely his, but still falls under his domain. In the movies, she was merely an [[BigCreepyCrawlies oversized, yet functionally normal bug]]. Here, she's a shadow-weaving spider-shaped [[EldritchAbomination eldritch monster]] who challenges Sauron for control of Mordor, and Sauron considers her to be dangerous enough that when he learns she has the New Ring, he sends ''all'' of his Nazgûl other than the Witch-king against her (and she turns out to be more than capable of fighting all eight of them at once in her spider form). Makes sense, as she's the daughter of an EldritchAbomination that back in the day was powerful enough to be on equal terms with Melkor, ''the'' GodOfEvil who was way, ''way'' stronger than Sauron.
* AdaptationExpansion: In the novels she was sentient and it was indicated that she could somehow communicate due to Gollum having sworn fealty to her, but she merely functions as a particularly threatening monster who incapacitates Frodo before being badly wounded by Sam. Here, she is a supporting character and powerful ally of Talion's, seeking to take Mordor back from Sauron. WordOfGod [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sxRVeyzuO7o states]] that they expanded on her to make for a better story, giving her more motivations for her actions than found in the books.
* AdaptationSpeciesChange: The mobile version of ''Shadow of War'' calls her a [[OurAngelsAreDifferent Maia]], while Tolkien only states that Ungoliant -- and by extension Shelob -- is an all-devouring spider-shaped abomination from the darkness outside Arda.
* AdaptationalHeroism: The Shelob we see in the books and movies is a savage monster that attempts to devour Frodo and Sam. This version on the other hand [[spoiler:turns out to be surprisingly well-intentioned: everything she does is to prevent Celebrimbor's rise as the Bright Lord due to one vision she has where he successfully dominates Sauron and uses him to conquer Middle-earth. This is why she kidnaps him at the start of the game and holds him ransom for his Ring of Power. She also never turns on Talion and provides him with assistance and advice whenever she can. She is also the one to tell him he must prevent Sauron from uniting his armies to defend Middle-earth from within Mordor]]. It could be argued, however, that she's not heroic, just exhibiting PragmaticVillainy in not wanting someone like Celebrimbor ''or'' Sauron in power.
* AffablyEvil: She's genuinely polite and cooperative to Talion. Doesn't stop her from using him to her end and calling him a puppet in their first meeting.
* AnimalisticAbomination: Shelob's mother, Ungoliant, was [[EldritchAbomination an ancient spirit of darkness]] who preferred a spider-like form, while her father was an actual GiantSpider. Shelob herself is somewhere in between.
* ArmourPiercingQuestion: ''"How much are you willing to sacrifice?"''. Also serves as her ArcWords.
* CastingAShadow: Has the ability to weave darkness how normal spiders use webs, and is often surrounded by shadow.
* CompositeCharacter:
** According to WordOfGod, Shelob's design and character was partly based on [[http://lotr.wikia.com/wiki/Thuringwethil Thuringwethil]].
** Her [[CastingAShadow shadow-weaving]] and antagonism toward Sauron call to mind Shelob's own mother, [[Literature/TheSilmarillion Ungoliant]], who briefly fought with Morgoth, Sauron's master, over the ''silmarils''.
* CurbStompBattle: [[spoiler: When Sauron betrays her to save his own skin and Suladân's men storm her chambers, Shelob tears them apart with her fingernails and teeth before making her escape]].
* DarkActionGirl: Shelob is a force to be reckoned with. [[spoiler:She stands her ground against 8 of the Nazgûl]].
* DoesNotLikeShoes: Her human form wears only a black dress, and she walks barefoot through the wastelands of Mordor.
* EeriePaleSkinnedBrunette: In her human appearance.
* EnemyMine: She has no love for the two leads, particularly Celebrimbor, as she kidnaps him to force Talion to surrender their ring to her. But she hates Sauron more than she does them, so Shelob assists the heroes whenever she can.
* EvenEvilHasStandards: She's disgusted by Celebrimbor trying to take Sauron's place, who she already despises for his general nature. And she's the more fundamentally evil one in terms of origin, being spawn of a pure evil EldritchAbomination. [[spoiler:Turns out that Sauron sold her out to Suladân (and discarded whatever their relationship was) out of wanting to try out a Ring of Power rather than, you know, tearing the invading humans apart like he dang well can.]] This probably explains her emphasis on "dealing only in truth."
* EvilCounterpart: She's close to being an evil Galadriel; in her human form, her mannerisms and tone are almost a mocking take on the Elf Lady's, as are her powers as a {{Seer}}.
* EvilVsEvil: Sauron contemptuously viewed Shelob as a pet but dissolved their alliance and banished her when she let her children prey on his armies. Shelob in turn hates Sauron and is willing to ally with Talion, but Celebrimbor warns him that she is not their ally.
* AFormYouAreComfortableWith: After their initial meeting, she's careful to always appear to Talion in her human form.
* HazyFeelTurn: She isn't exactly nice, manipulates Talion, and has no problem feeding on orcs and humans alike; but she doesn't want Middle-earth under a tyrant.
* HeroicSacrifice: In an interview, the developers stated that the reason she attacked Frodo and Sam in ''The Lord of the Rings'' -- sustaining possibly-mortal wounds in the process -- was not to eat them, but because she foresaw that Frodo would succumb to the One Ring and wanted to hasten their journey to Mt. Doom so that Gollum could unwittingly do what Frodo could not: destroy the One Ring and end the threat of Sauron's dominion once-and-for-all.
* HumanoidAbomination: Despite the ability to take a human form, she is still the offspring of the dark, monstrous entity that is Ungoliant and part of her true nature still shines through in certain parts.
* IJustWantToBeNormal: Her flashbacks strongly imply she wanted to have a normal, human (form) relationship with Annatar.
* InkSuitActor: Modelled after her voice actress, Pollyanna [=McIntosh=].
* ItsPersonal: She seeks revenge on Sauron because Sauron betrayed her by stealing Mordor from her.
* MadnessMantra: [[spoiler: After Sauron's betrayal and her escape from Barad-dûr, Shelob retreats into Cirith Ungol, repeating the same thing over and over as she devolves more and more into her spider form]].
-->'''Shelob''': The Great Deceiver will pay for his betrayal...he will suffer...he will suffer!
* MetaphoricallyTrue: WordOfGod states that while she has BrutalHonesty, she chooses her words carefully to further her own goals.
* MoreTeethThanTheOsmondFamily: In her spider form, Shelob has a mouth full of needlepoint fangs in addition to chelicerae.
* MsFanservice: Her human form. Justified since she previously used it as [[spoiler:Sauron's bride]] and uses it now [[AFormYouAreComfortableWith to interact more easily with Talion]].
* NoSell: She wears the New Ring with no desire to use it, and she gives it back to Talion without hesitation. Even though Celebrimbor claims the New Ring isn't tainted like Sauron's, it seems like Shelob is completely unaffected by it.
* NotSoDifferent: How she sees Sauron and Celebrimbor.
--> '''Celebrimbor:''' Return what you have stolen from me, and I will bring Sauron to you.\\
'''Shelob:''' Why would I do that, Ring-Maker? You and Sauron are one.
* PhysicalGod: The mobile version of ''Shadow of War'' classifies her as a Maia, akin to the Wizards, Balrogs, and Sauron. She's clearly something on that order in any case and makes short work of anything less.
* PrimalStance: At the end of the Web of Fate cutscene she is shown in a [[PartialTransformation half-human form]], crawling to Cirith Ungol on all fours like a spider.
* RedBaron: The mobile version of ''Shadow of War'' gives her the sobriquet of "the Shadow Spider", an ability that boosts her power for every Evil-alligned ally present.
* Really700YearsOld: She is at least over 7000 years old, but neither of her forms looks particularly elderly.
* ShapeshifterDefaultForm: She clearly prefers her giant spider form. Though she avoids showing it to Talion after their first meeting, she's often hiding as a spider when he comes to call, and she shifts back to a woman before he can see her. Even in Tolkien's notes, it's not quite clear what Shelob actually is, and there are some implications that she and her mother are just formless evil and darkness. Regardless, it's quite clear that the spider is her preferred form.
* ShesGotLegs: Her Human form is clad in a shadowy black dress that highlights her long legs.
* SpannerInTheWorks: Her entire involvement revolves around manipulating events to foil both Sauron [[spoiler:and Celebrimbor]].
* SpidersAreScary: She is the offspring of spider-shaped ancient spirit and a regular giant spider, and the game's interpretation of her arachnid form looks like it was designed by H. R. Giger.
* ThenLetMeBeEvil: Annatar's betrayal caused her to [[IAmAMonster forsake her human guise]].
* TrueSight: Can see both Ringwraiths and Celebrimbor. She also has the ability to foretell or sense events that have yet to happen.
* UncannyValley: She can take the shape of a beautiful human woman...with oddly pale skin, an unsettling way of moving, and eyes that don't react to light normally. (''Unless'' it's the light from the New Ring.)[[spoiler:Notably, all of these were normal in the flashback, before Annatar betrayed her and she decided to give up on the whole "human" thing for a while.]]
* UnholyMatrimony: [[spoiler:Used to be Sauron's lover in his Annatar form until he decided to betray her]].
* VoluntaryShapeshifting: But, it seems, only from her normal spider form to [[HumanityEnsues human]].
* WeakenedByTheLight: When Eltariel [[HolyBurnsEvil uses the Light of Galadriel to repel the Nazgûl]], Shelob cringes in pain -- a CallForward to Sam using the Phial of Galadriel to fend her off in ''The Lord of the Rings''.
* WeUsedToBeFriends:
** Friends might not be the accurate word, but artifacts from ''Shadow of Mordor'' suggest there was a time when Sauron and Shelob were (albeit grudging) allies, with ''Shadow of War'' revealing that [[spoiler:they used to be lovers]]. However, when Sauron came to feel that Shelob was taking liberties with the terms of their arrangement (namely by letting her offspring prey on his minions), he rescinded whatever alliance existed between them and ordered her to get out of Mordor or face the consequences, which may explain why she is willing to work with Talion against Sauron.
** ''Shadow of War'' also indicates that [[spoiler:Sauron used her [[TheScapegoat as a scapegoat]] to save his own skin when Suladân's army threatened to storm Barad-dûr]].
* WithFriendsLikeThese: Celebrimbor is openly wary of her, and constantly insists to Talion that Shelob cannot be trusted and whatever benefits they'd gain from an alliance with her aren't worth the cost.
-->'''Celebrimbor''': She is ''not'' our ally!
* WomanScorned: The Web of Fate cutscene reveals that [[spoiler:Shelob and Sauron were lovers, prior to him backstabbing her to be attacked by Suladân's forces]].
* ZergRush: Talion can summon a horde of her offspring to harass enemies.
[[/folder]]

[[folder:The Gondorian army]]
!The Gondorian army
The defenders of Minas Ithil. Talion and Celebrimbor help them defend the city during Act I, Talion because it's the right thing to do, while Celebrimbor is more interested in what it's guarding. Baranor isn't listed here due to his role as a DLC protagonist.

* BigDamnHeroes: During Act I, unnamed captains may save you from orcs about to strike the killing blow.
* FateWorseThanDeath: [[spoiler:Like Castamir, several are turned into wights, and are forced to follow Nazgul-Isildur's will. For better or worse, they later end up serving Dark Talion.]]
* RedShirt: Tarandor and Herion both have some backstory but seemingly die when the city is lost to the Witch-king early on. They pretty much exist only to fill out the spots reserved for warchiefs on the army screen.
* RedShirtArmy: Unnamed Gondorian soldiers serve as fodder during some nemesis missions during act I, presumably because the orcs are focused on capturing the city instead of killing each other. Once act II begins, they are removed from the system and orcs instead begin capturing and slaughtering each other.
[[/folder]]

[[folder:Castamir]]
!Castamir
->Voiced by: Creator/TravisWillingham

The Gondorian overlord of Minas Ithil, and Ildril's father.
----

* CameBackWrong: [[spoiler: When Isildur raises him from the dead, Castamir is a barely sentient monster who has only the vaguest recollection of his daughter and his past life]].
* DistressedDude: Is made out to be one, when the [[spoiler: Witch-king's agents apparently take him hostage. Ultimately subverted, in that he was never in danger; the Orcs merely claimed he was to force a confrontation with Talion]].
* FateWorseThanDeath: [[spoiler:He is raised as a wight by the Witch-king and he is still barely sentient during the whole time]].
-->'''Celebrimbor:''' He serves the Dark Lord still.
* GenreBlindness: [[spoiler: Seemed to genuinely believe the Witch-king would honor his end of their deal. Completely forgot who the Witch-king served, and what tends to happen to the people Sauron manipulates and deceives.]]
* KnowWhenToFoldEm: He thinks Minas Ithil is doomed and is ready to abandon it. [[spoiler:He probably genuinely believes that, which makes his betrayal easy for him.]]
* ManipulativeBastard: [[spoiler: During her mission to rescue him, Idril finds him talking with an Orc commander. However, her sudden appearance allows him to kill the Orc while it's distracted and then claim he was being interrogated]].
* MeaningfulName: Shares a name with a Gondorian of royal blood who started the Kinstrife and betrayed the rightful king and whose followers after his death would flee south and eventually become the Corsairs of Umbar and allies of Mordor. [[spoiler:This Castamir also betrays Gondor to the Witch-king but only does it in a faint hope of them sparing his daughter.]]
* TheMole: [[spoiler:He's the traitor responsible for Sauron's forces conquering Minas Ithil, although the city arguably would've fallen anyway.]]
* OOCIsSeriousBusiness: [[spoiler: After rescuing him from captivity, Talion again requests that Castamir turn over the Palantir to his safekeeping. Castamir dismisses Talion's concern in a rather upbeat manner, assuring the Ranger Gondorian armies will soon arrive to relieve them. Idril immediately realises something is wrong, as she relates to Talion they've been sending requests for aid to Minas Tirith for weeks with no reply]].
* PapaWolf: He will do anything to spare his daughter's life. [[spoiler:Including treason.]]
* ReforgedIntoAMinion: [[spoiler:The Witch-king raises him as a wight and forces Talion and Eltariel to fight him]].
* RewardedAsATraitorDeserves: [[spoiler:His deal with the Witch-king is to spare his daughter's life in exchange for the Palantir. The Witch-king scoffs she'll die with the rest of the Gondorians at a later date, and smacks him dead with his spiked mace.]]
* TooDumbToLive: [[spoiler: One wonders how stupid he was to think the Witch-king would actually honour his end of the bargain]].
* WalkingSpoiler: A lot of information about him spoils important details regarding Act I.
* YouHaveOutlivedYourUsefulness: [[spoiler: The Witch-king wastes no time in killing Castamir after he's handed over the Palantir]].
[[/folder]]

[[folder:Idril]]
!Idril
[[quoteright:350:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/idril_shadowofwar.jpg]]
->Voiced by: Nicole Tompkins

A guard of the Gondorian city of Minas Ithil who Talion befriends.
----

* ActionGirl: She can handle an arming sword well enough to carve a swathe through a horde of orcs.
* BadassBookworm: In addition to her guard duties, she's also the narrator for the Gondorian Artifacts, where she demonstrates an aptitude for Middle-earth history and a love of reading in particular.
* BigNo: Screams a horrified one after [[spoiler: the Witch-king murders her father]].
* CuteBruiser: She's about a foot smaller than her male comrades, but that doesn't stop her carving through Orcs like paper.
* DoWrongRight: After [[MissingMom her mother was killed in an Orc raid when she was eleven]], Idril used to sneak into the pass of Cirith Ungol, [[TroublingUnchildlikeBehaviour looking for Orcs to kill in revenge]]. After her father got tired of the soldiers there bringing his daughter back for her own safety, he enlisted her in Gondor's army so that when she ''did'' encounter Orcs, she'd at least have a fighting chance.
* HasAType: Several artifacts have her almost gushing about her fantasy of being courted by a dashing Corsair, and she seems to have a much higher opinion of Haradrim than Orcs. It helps that she admires Baranor, the only Haradrim whom she knows personally.
* HiddenDepths: She is a guard, but her primary interest is in the history of Minis Ithil, which she seeks to preserve against Sauron's efforts to conquer and destroy it.
* HonorBeforeReason: [[spoiler:She knows staying in Mordor means certain death, but she is unwilling to leave return to Gondor and intends to make her final stand there]].
* IHaveYourWife: [[spoiler: During the siege of Minas Ithil, Idril's father Castamir (who is also the commander of Gondor's forces in the city) is taken hostage by the Witch-king's agents to force a confrontation with Talion. Idril [[OhCrap panics]] when the Witch-king's messenger holds up a dagger belonging to her father as proof]].
-->'''Talion''': We cannot know-\\
'''Idril''': [[AlwaysChaoticEvil That the Orcs are incapable of mercy]]? [[spoiler: That my father is likely already dead?]]
* ItGetsEasier: Despite already being an accomplished soldier, Talion and Celebrimbor both note after her father's death, she's a lot harder and colder.
* KnowWhenToFoldEm: After Baranor is saved from getting executed by the Orcs, Idril finally realizes that Minas Ithil is lost, and agrees to flee with him.
* RoaringRampageOfRevenge: Subverted: [[spoiler: she tries to go after the Witch-king following her father's death, but Talion stops Idril and urges her to join Baranor and the others in retreat, as there are four Nazgûl between her and the Witch-king and she has no chance of defeating one such creature, let alone their leader]].
* TookALevelInBadass: Over the course of the story, Idril becomes a competent warrior and ranger, a far cry from the scared young soldier Talion met at the beginning of the game.
* UncertainDoom: [[spoiler:She is determined to stand her ground in Mordor and is last seen marching with other guards and Baranor, who makes it clear they will face their doom together]].
* VagueAge: She is noticeably shorter than the other characters and looks pretty young, but is still allowed to fight with the rest of the Gondrorian army, and her status as a warchief implies she is good at it. This makes it difficult to say what her relationship to Baranor is.
* YouAreNotAlone: Idril fully intends to rescue her father alone, but Talion gently reminds her that she needn't assume her friends won't help her do it.
[[/folder]]

[[folder:Dagor]]
!Dagor
->Voiced by: Creator/JBBlanc
A Gondorian sergeant at Minas Ithil.
----
* BaldOfAwesome: He is completely clean-shaven possibly to make his appearance more distinct among the Gondorian officers.
* EyepatchOfPower: Over his left eye, which is a second characteristic that makes him stand out the most.
* KillItWithFire: Dagor is caught in the blast when the Witch-king's drake obliterates the gate to the Upper City of Minas Ithil with a fireball; he is last seen writhing and burning on the ground, and since he is not seen again when Baranor and Talion call the retreat, it's to be presumed he perished in the flames.
* RedHerring: [[spoiler:When Shelob's vision reveals that there is a traitor among the Gondorian guard that will open the gates to let the orc forces in, players would be naturally inclined to think he is TheMole because of his [[ObviouslyEvil sinister appearance and name]]. Turns out he isn't, and Castamir is the actual traitor]].
* SpearCarrier: He only appears to give one line of dialogue and stand silent in the background among the Gondorian officers.
* TheQuietOne: He is a man of very few words.
[[/folder]]

[[folder:Brûz the Chopper]]
!!Brûz the Chopper
[[quoteright:237:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/bruzthechopper.jpg]]
[[caption-width-right:237:"Bright Lord, Dark Lord, same thing really!"]]
->Voiced by: Creator/GideonEmery

An Olag-Hai Tank and member of the Warmonger Tribe Talion recruits in the ''Shadow of War'' story.
----
* TheAce: As far as Mordor society is concerned, Brûz definitely qualifies. He's a powerful warrior and a skilled tactician. It's why Celebrimbor and Talion made him the initial commander of their forces.
* ActuallyPrettyFunny: After Brûz dispatches Flogg the Hatchet with gusto, Celebrimbor approves, "I ''like'' him!"
* AffablyEvil: Even before joining Talion, he's quite the friendly chap.
* AudibleGleam: When Talion conquers the first Stronghold, Brûz suggests himself as Overlord, smiling with an audible gleam.
* AwesomeAussie: Unlike the scruffy British hooligan accent common to most uruks, Brûz has a distinctly Australian accent.
* TheBigGuy: Standard for an Olog-hai, but he likes to reference it a lot.
* BlackSpeech: He can't speak a word of it, but nevertheless gives an approximate translation of what he ''thinks'' an Overlord who speaks nothing but Black Speech is yelling at Talion's forces during a siege. His translation ("You are all going to die...horribly.") is close.[[note]]According to subtitles, he says, "You should not have come. This fort stands strong. We will kill you all!"[[/note]] To wit, in the original text, Olog-hai were only able to communicate in Black Speech. This means that either the AlternateUniverse has omitted this detail, or Brûz has been raised in a part of Mordor that doesn't use the language.[[note]]Admittedly, Tolkien wrote that Black Speech was of little use for anything besides insults, and that different tribes would communicate in Westron when in contact with one another.[[/note]]
* BloodKnight: Admits to like ripping out spines, and asks Talion to let him pop off both of the Warlord's heads. To say he enjoys bloodshed is a bit of an understatement.
* BoisterousBruiser: He genuinely enjoys combat.
* BreakTheBadass: Introduces the Shaming mechanic [[spoiler:with himself as the first example as punishment for going rogue on Talion. Should you later re-Recruit him, his portrait will show a depressed Brûz, and on missions he'll ''continue'' to sob to the other Orcs, "It's not my fort! It's his fort! Always has been!"]]
* BrokenTears: After being [[spoiler:Shamed for his betrayal, Brûz is reduced to an inconsolably weeping wreck, and all his dialogue afterwards is delivered between sobs.]]
* ButThouMust: [[spoiler:Regardless of how you feel about him, you cannot appoint him as Overlord of Nurnen after taking it from Ratbag, which leads to his betrayal]].
* ChronicBackstabbingDisorder: Dark example. [[spoiler:After his quest arc is concluded, a Shamed and Deranged Brûz can be forcibly recruited again, but he's hard wired to have permanently high turnover due to his madness and resentment.]]
* ContrastingSequelMainCharacter: Well okay, Supporting Character, but Brûz is clearly a {{Foil}} to Ratbag in the role of tutorial specimen for Nemesis Minions. Whereas Ratbag in ''Mordor'' was an runtling Orc who cajoled his way into Talion's mechanisms and [[DistressedDude had to be rescued]] [[ButtMonkey constantly]] to serve as a trial run for intervening in Power Struggles only to be killed in the cutscene introduction of the DiscOneFinalBoss, Brûz in ''War'' is a huge Troll who's more than competent in a fight that Talion and Celebrimbor are so impressed with that they immediately decide to Dominate him mid-battle to become their first officer in their Army, and he will apparently not have a prescripted death and be released into the Nemesis herd once his story purpose is fulfilled. [[spoiler:Appropriately enough, when he and Ratbag meet, they argue quite a bunch. Even more so at the end of Brûz's quest line, where Ratbag is still loyal to Talion without the need of branding him while Brûz ended up broken after betraying Talion.]]
* CrazyAwesome: He just wants to relieve opponents of their spines. [[invoked]]
* CurbStompBattle: In the introductory pit fight, he very quickly dispatches his opponent.
* {{Determinator}}: When he defines himself as an optimist. [[spoiler:Cruelly averted after being broken. As the leader of an outpost, he'll say over and over, "I don't ''want'' the fort!"]]
-->'''Brûz:''' Always said you were an optimist. Know what that is, mate? It's about sizing up a situation that's bloody impossible and saying "Yeah alright, I'll have a go!" I'm exactly the same way.
* TheDogBitesBack: While him [[spoiler: betraying Talion]] is treated like a terrible crime for which he must be punished, it becomes far less severe when one remembers that the only reason Brûz was loyal to Talion in the first place was being brainwashed into serving him. He's not exactly a nice guy (none of the orcs are) but he's well within his rights to turn on Talion the moment he feels able to. [[spoiler: Until you realize he never was branded; absolutely nothing about him changed, and he doesn't even get Talion's handprint on his cheek.]]
* EvenEvilHasLovedOnes: [[spoiler:After Shaming Brûz, at some point later in the game, his blood brothers will ambush you, Baz and Gaz, and call you out on ruining him. Later, Daz, his best friend, will ambush you.]]
-->'''Gaz:''' Do you think you can terrorize and torture your way across Mordor and no one will take you to task for it? Well, that ends now. Ends good and proper!
* FateWorseThanDeath: He receives one from [[spoiler:Talion in order to make an example of what happens to those who oppose the Bright Lord.]] Fittingly, [[spoiler:completing his questline unlocks the "Worse Than Death" upgrade for Shaming, which lets you create Deranged Orcs]].
* FriendlyEnemy: He seems to be affable and complimentary towards everybody, even people he's trying to kill. [[spoiler:This doesn't stop him from backstabbing Talion over not promoting him to Overlord when the opportunity presents itself.]]
* GeniusBruiser: He has a far better vocabulary than other Uruks, much less other Ologs.
* HeelFaceBrainwashing: Like other Orcs, he is recruited via Domination. [[spoiler:However, he's faking it.]]
* KickTheSonOfABitch: [[spoiler: Charming as he is, Bruz ''did'' take over Talion's fort after literally stabbing him in the back. However, Talion and Celebrimbor shaming him into insanity is presented as [[MoralEventHorizon crossing a line]], and both Ranger and Ratbag, who had no love for Bruz in the first place, are genuinely disturbed by his miserable state after the protagonists are done with him.]]
* MadnessMantra: [[spoiler: "I don't want the fort. I never wanted the fort. It's your fort."]]
* MakeAnExampleOfThem: [[spoiler:Talion and Celebrimbor decide to Shame him to the point of derangement rather than just kill him to send a message to any potentially treasonous followers]].
-->'''Celebrimbor''': [[spoiler: Now ''every'' Orc in Mordor will think twice before betraying us!]]
* ManipulativeBastard: [[spoiler:He shows no signs of branding after Talion recruits him; he was faking it the entire time, as Talion was his best chance to become the overlord. You can even briefly see him deciding whether to smash or go along with Talion during his "branding".]]
* MindRape: [[spoiler:Celebrimbor inflicts this on him by Shaming him to the point of insanity, and the olog is left a babbling, broken wreck for the rest of his existence.]]
* MotorMouth: Even contending the much, much expanded line-pool available to the NPC Uruks of ''Shadow of War'', Brûz is by leaps and bounds the chattiest Orc or Troll ever encountered by far, and when at your side simply will not stop ''talking''. Before your recruit him, it even sounds as though his fellow Captains were out of patience for his jabbering.
-->'''Enemy Orc''': I've had enough of your mouth, ''Brûz.''
** In a rather dark way, [[spoiler: after being Shamed, Brûz's dialogue becomes nothing but incoherently babbling his MadnessMantra, even during combat]].
* MrExposition: He gives Talion the lay of the land upon being Dominated, introducing the local overlord and walking you through the mechanics of army management as you gather followers. [[spoiler:He is also used to demonstrate betrayal from your ranks, and later the Shaming upgrade]].
* NoSell: With the [[RewatchBonus benefit of hindsight,]] it seems likely that [[spoiler:he was never under Talion's control to begin with and only played along to rise in the ranks.]]
* NotSoDifferent: Sees no difference between Sauron and the Gravewalker. Part of it is being Dominated, but one gets the impression he knows that any ring wielder is heading down Sauron's path.
-->'''Brûz:''' "Bright Lord, Dark Lord, same thing really! End result's me ripping spines out - which I like t' do anyways, so either way's a win."
* PunnyName: Brûz, Boisterous ''Bruiser''. Additionally, when he introduces himself, it sounds like 'Bruce', befitting him as an AwesomeAussie.
* ShoutOut: In addition to his name explained above, his title "The Chopper" is an obvious reference to infamous Australian gang leader and criminal Mark "Chopper" Read.
* TheResenter: Brûz wanted to be the Overlord of the first fort Talion conquered, but is passed over. [[spoiler:He doesn't take kindly to this, which is one of the reasons why he betrays Talion.]]
* VillainousBreakdown: [[spoiler:After being Shamed, Brúz is reduced to a shell of what he used to be.]]
[[/folder]]

[[folder:Ranger]]
!!As-Harto "Ranger" the Vicious
[[quoteright:350:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/azharto.png]]
[[caption-width-right:350:"You are a cruel one, Gravewalker."]]
->Voiced by: Creator/FredTatasciore

Initially thought to be the Overlord of Núrnen, this Olog-hai is actually Ratbag's inseparable friend, which makes him a unexpected ally to Talion.

----
* ActuallyThatsMyAssistant: Ranger is believed to be in charge of Núrnen, but actually it's Ratbag (who posed as a second head).
* BadassBoast: [[spoiler:When Talion rescues him, he asks Ranger if he can still walk. Ranger replies yes, he can if it means he can extract some revenge, and if Brûz is there, he'll '''run''' to face him.]]
* BadassInDistress: [[spoiler:He is taken captive by Brûz during his storyline, but he is rescued by Talion. He makes it clear he is still ready to fight after being released]].
* BerserkButton: Being held captive. It's one reason he owes a life debt to Ratbag.
* TheBigGuy: According to the Appendix, Ranger is one of the biggest and strongest Olog-hais, making him one of the Big Guys in a ''race'' of Big Guys.
* BigGuyLittleGuy: With Ratbag, who is a runt orc in contrast to Ranger being a hulking Olog.
* DeadpanSnarker: He's aware that no one else is able to translate BlackSpeech, and takes the opportunity to snark at both Ratbag and Talion whenever they fail to understand him.
* DragonInChief: Being a big and mighty olog-hai, Ranger is clearly more dangerous than Ratbag. Its said that he only became Overlord of Núrnen after Ranger himself killed their predecessor.
* EvenEvilHasStandards: [[spoiler:Like Ratbag, he's horrified at Brûz's state after Talion has him Shamed.]]
* IncomingHam: His first lines are a hammy BadassBoast delivered to Talion's army in BlackSpeech no less:
-->'''Ranger''' (in BlackSpeech): ''You should not have come. This fort stands strong. We will kill you all!''
* IntelligibleUnintelligible: Ranger speaks exclusively in BlackSpeech, but Ratbag is capable of understanding perfectly (Or pretending he can). Players can as well, due to his lines being subtitled. [[spoiler:He's actually capable of speaking in Common.]]
* IOweYouMyLife: He says the only reason he hangs with Ratbag is because the latter saved his life, he even takes offense when called a friend.
* OnlyKnownByTheirNickname: Ranger's real name is Az-Harto. This never comes up except in the appendices.
* OOCIsSeriousBusiness: [[spoiler:After seeing Brûz's fate, Ranger drops the Black Speech and tells him how that was cruel.]]
* PetTheDog: Despite Ranger's insistence that he and Ratbag aren't friends. He's very appreciative of Ratbag getting help from Talion while he was captured.
* TheStoic: Ranger remains calm and composed, even when angry. The only time he ever shows anger is after Talion frees him from capture. Even then, he does a SkywardScream then calms back down, ready to fight.
* {{Tsundere}}: Very subtly, but there are hints that Ranger actually doesn't mind Ratbag. the biggest is when [[spoiler: he and Talion take down Bruz,]] Ratbag runs over and hugs Ranger, and Ranger pats him on the back with a smirk and softly chides Ratbag for relying on Talion to pull off the rescue mission.
* VillainousFriendship: With Ratbag, though he denies it, which also doubles as an OddFriendship. You wouldn't think that this big brute would actually be genuinely friends with someone like him.
* WeNamedTheMonkeyJack: He was named by Ratbag in Talion's honor, much to the latter's bafflement.
[[/folder]]

[[folder:Carnán]]
!!Carnán
[[quoteright:330:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/carnan.jpg]]
->Voiced by: Toks Olagundoye

A mysterious protector of the forest of Núrnen.

----
* ActionGirl: One of the biggest in the series, even more so than Lithariel, [[OurElvesAreBetter Eltariel]] and [[CuteBruiser Idril]], considering Carnán can trade blows with a ''Balrog''.
* AlwaysABiggerFish: Subverted in that ''she'' is the "bigger fish". When facing a Balrog, Celebrimbor is confident they'll defeat it because they have a spirit of Carnán by their side.
* TheBeastmaster: As a master of the forest, all creatures, including caragors and graugs, bend to her will.
* DisneyDeath: [[spoiler:She dies halfway through her questline, but returns alive at the end]].
* TheDreaded: Celebrimbor is scared of her, and she's reportedly a match for Sauron himself.
-->'''Celebrimbor:''' Talion! You cannot defeat her.\\
'''Talion:''' What do you suggest I ''do''?\\
'''Celebrimbor:''' [[OOCIsSeriousBusiness Throw down your sword and]] ''[[KneelBeforeZod kneel.]]''
* EliteMooks: Played with: she can [[VoluntaryShapeshifting turn herself into elite versions of the bestiary of Mordor]], including elite versions of Graugs and drakes.
* {{Expy}}: A more violent version of Tom Bombadill from the books, being a personification of Mordor as much as Tom was of the Shire. WordOfGod says this ''might'' be who she is.
* FightingAShadow: She has the ability to manifest various Mordor wildlife from the plant life of her forest, as she remains safe under her tree. That said, her wildlife forms are [[DownplayedTrope not totally expendable:]] you'll still [[HeroMustSurvive fail her missions]] if she dies during combat, and [[spoiler: after using her Drake form to pin Tar-Goroth under a frozen lake, she is visibly weakened the next time you see her.]]
* GoodIsNotSoft: Ask any of the Uruks wandering into her forest. She does not fool around, and their deaths are ''slow'' since the forest is methodically ''consuming'' them.
* HeroicSacrifice: [[spoiler:Subverted. She spends much of her strength to trap Tar-Goroth inside a lake and seemingly withers and dies slowly afterwards, but she reappears alive again when Zog is finally defeated]].
* HomefieldAdvantage: In her forest she is all powerful and can even appear in her humanoid form but outside her forest she can only appear as [[EliteMook tougher]] versions of mordor's wildlife [[{{Planimal}} made of plants and bark]].
* ItsPersonal: With Tar-Goroth due to him burning down much of her forest during his rampage in the second age.
* LuckyTranslation or MeaningfulName: Her name resembles the Finnish word "Kaarna", which means (tree's) bark. Whether this is intentional or not is hard to say.
* MysteriousPast: Even the developers have no idea who she really is. They postulate she could be an Entwife[[note]]If she is, it would kind-of fit with Treebeard's description: "hair parched by the sun to the hue of ripe corn and their cheeks like red apples. Yet their eyes were still the eyes of our own people"[[/note]], a Tom Bombadil {{Expy}}, or something else.
-->'''Michael de Plater:''' She is a spirit of nature. She could be a Maiar. I don’t think she is an Ent-wife, but I think she probably knows what happened to them. She definitely would be able to speak Entish, but she is definitely a representation of the spirit of nature and what would happen to that if it was in somewhere oppressed by darkness, industry and horror as Mordor is.
* NatureSpirit: Her role as a [[GuardianEntity protector of Núrnen]]. It's also why Celebrimbor thinks just trying to talk her down is pointless.
-->'''Celebrimbor:''' One does not reason with the ''wind''.
* NeutralNoLonger: She initially doesn't really care about the war raging outside Núrnen. She kills almost all who enter her forest, which are mostly Sauron's scouts, who suffer a FateWorseThanDeath. However, she aids Talion in some quests (marked with a Beast icon) as a ride-able mount when Sauron's Mystic Tribes start screwing around with nature, including ''summoning a Balrog''.
* NonMammalMammaries: She has a noticeable bust for a plant creature.
* Really700YearsOld: She was one of Morgoth's contemporaries, making her anywhere from 6500+ years old, to [[TimeAbyss older than the universe]].
* StrangeSyntaxSpeaker: Carnán talks with what can only be described as a hissing drawl, elongating some syllables and hushing others for a disconcerting, almost atonal cadence. When teaming up with Talion on missions though, all the excitement makes her voice rise and quicken, creating a contrasting accent of sorts.
* TertiarySexualCharacteristics: Her body has the shape of a human woman wearing a dress or gown, and she's female.
* VoluntaryShapeshifting: She can turn herself into more powerful versions of animals in Mordor.
* WorfHadTheFlu: She's [[InformedAbility supposed to be capable of going toe-to-toe with Sauron]], yet needs Talion and Celebrimbor's help on multiple occasions (and her avatars are prime fodder for enemies). Just before the final mission of her questline, it's revealed that [[spoiler: she's going into a state of hibernation]] -- she is plantlife, after all.
* TheUnintelligible: Borderline. While she speaks in a language that Talion can understand, she has an incredibly thick accent. The player will either need to listen extremely carefully, or play with the subtitles on.
[[/folder]]

[[folder:Akoth Slayer of the Dead]]
An orc that acts as Talion's lieutenant in the Blade of Galadriel DLC.

* BerserkButton: Undead, hence his name. He witnessed his brother's death, and once the latter returned as a revenant, he performed a MercyKill on him. From that point onwards, he dedicated himself on killing any and all undead orcs he can find, which eventually led him to Talion [[GameplayAndStoryIntegration Sure enough, he has the "Enraged by Undead" trait in gameplay.]]
* ChuckCunninghamSyndrome: His fate in ''Blade of Galadriel'' is somewhere between this and PutOnABus. After Eltariel successfully defends Cirith Ungol and gets a visit from the Rogue Nazgûl, Talion orders Akoth to go to Minas Morgul and ensure that it is secure. Akoth is nowhere to be seen when Talion and Eltariel return to Minas Morgul themselves at the end of the story; presumably he returned to Cirith Ungol in the interim, but the region ceases to be relevant to the story after the defense of its fort. Interestingly, [[GameplayAndStorySegregation he always shows up in Cirith Ungol's Army screen as its overlord throughout the story]].
* IKnowAGuy: His main narrative purpose in ''Blade of Galadriel'''s story is to point her to several "unique" locals who can possibly help bolster the fort's defenses. {{Justified|Trope}} in that, as Cirith Ungol's overlord, he can't exactly be running around on the field.
* InTheHood: Wears a black hood just like Talion.
* {{Irony}}: His hatred for the undead led him to seek out the Gravewalker, which in turn led to him becoming a servant of an undead fiend.
* HeelFaceBrainwashing: [[AllThereInTheManual His bio mentions that Talion dominated as recruited him]] after trying to kill him. Notably, since Eltariel refuses to dominate orcs, Akoth is the only notable ally in ''Blade of Galadriel'' who was subjected to this.
* HeroWorshipper: Seems to have a bit of that as he dresses like Talion does.
* InSeriesNickname: Talion calls him "Slayer."
* NumberTwo: To Talion himself, as the overlord of Cirith Ungol, Talion's last remaining stronghold inside Mordor after he loses Seregost.
[[/folder]]

[[folder:Eltariel's Army]]
A group of orcs Eltariel hires during the Blade of Galadriel DLC. These guys are static characters instead of the randomized orcs Talion meets. They are Ar-Kaius the Architect, Ogg the Bow of Morgoth, Ar-Baruk the Thrall, Màku the Fixer, Flak "Flint" and Torz
"Tinder", Krimp the Enchanted, and Golm the Digger.

* AbhorrentAdmirer: Krimp the Enchanted is rather taken with Eltariel. Being an orc though, she's less pleased by his infatuation. To his credit, he is ''not'' a StalkerWithACrush. He tries to be as genuinely civil and chivalrous as possible to her.
** And he isn't THAT hideous either. Aside from being a little rotund and his yellowing skin, he's not the most revolting orc in the game.
* {{Adorkable}}: The Enchanted definitely fits this, what with all of his fanboyish admiration of his mistress. Flint and Tinder could also fit here due to their childish enthusiasm.
* AffablyEvil: They happen to be some of the nicest orcs in the whole game. It speaks volumes that they are like this naturally instead of being branded by Eltariel.
* AlwaysIdenticalTwins: Flak Flint and Torz Tinder are mirrored version of one another.
* TheBeastmaster: Ar-Baruk the Thrall is a follower of Shelob, and he controls her spiders. Golm the Digger can control ghûls.
* BewareTheSillyOnes: Sure, you may laugh at the quirky nature of these orcs, especially the Enchanted and Flint and Tinder, but remember. They're still orcs who can still skewer, stab, and brutalize any who get in their way.
* BlowingStuffUp: Flint and Tinder's favorite hobby.
* BodyguardCrush: Krimp joins Eltariel as a bodyguard because he's in love with her. Unfortunately for him, the feeling is not mutual.
* BoisterousBruiser: Ar-Kaius The Architect, who is also a ViolentGlaswegian.
* CanonImmigrant: Once you have the DLC, these guys will be added to your garrison in the main game, and can thus be added to Talion's army as well. However, unlike in the DLC, they will follow the normal orc AI, and thus can betray you, die, etc.
* CoolOldGuy: Ar-Kaius has very noticeable white hair and beard and acts like a BoisterousBruiser.
** Ogg is even older (See TimeAbyss below) and just so happens to be able to headshot orcs around a mile away.
* DevelopersForesight:
** While they all have extra lines if added to the main game, Krimp, who has a huge crush on Eltariel, isn't nearly as nice to Talion, who he is more willing to criticise.
** If they die during the DLC, they obviously can't appear later during it, and Galadriel gives Eltariel her objectives instead.
* FinishingEachOthersSentences: Flint and Tinder often talk like this.
* TheFixer: Màku's entire shtick.
* FriendlySniper: Ogg is pretty friendly and sociable for a follower of Morgoth and is a skilled shot with a crossbow. Eltariel notes the irony that Morgoth would be furious at one of his followers working with an Elf.
* TheFundamentalist: Ogg the Bow of Morgoth is an orc loyal to Morgoth who sees Sauron as a pretender and usurper of the title of Dark Lord.
* HeelFaceBrainwashing: Averted. Eltariel dislikes the idea of branding, and thus hires these guys by helping them (or in the case of Màku and Krimp, they join on their own accord).
* ICallItVera: Ar-Kaius has a massive hammer he calls "Boneshaker".
* InLoveWithYourCarnage: Flint and Tinder love how Eltariel makes things go "BOOM!"
* KlingonScientistsGetNoRespect: The architect likes building more than he likes destroying, which is apparently an extremely rare occurence in the orc society.
* MadBomber: Flint and Tinder are Orc sappers who love blowing stuff up.
* MookCarryover: A notable aversion with Ogg, who, unlike most other orcs who were around at the time, didn't join up with Sauron when he replaced Morgoth.
* MutuallyExclusivePartyMembers: [[spoiler:The Digger and the Architect are directly opposed to one other. Eltariel will have to side with one over the other]].
* NumberTwo: Màku acts as one to Eltariel, helping her find Orcs to recruit and formulate plans to sabotage forts. In fact, he's the one who sought her out to serve her.
* PermanentlyMissableContent: You can only recruit them once in your save file. If they die, they are gone unless they cheat death, and the only way to get them back is to restart the DLC. As of July 2018, they can be unlocked in story mode more than once by replaying the DLC, however.
* RagtagBunchOfMisfits: An Olog architect, an ancient sniper, an olog with the ability to control spiders, a fixer orc whose face is never seen, two brothers who like to blow stuff up with matching burn wounds, a chivalrous bruiser with a crush on Eltariel, and a half-naked orc who lives underground. This group is pretty colorful.
* ReallySevenHundredYearsOld: As one of the original followers of Morgoth, Ogg is several millennia old, and can pretty much claim to be the oldest Orc of Mordor, maybe even of the entire Middle-Earth. He's probably even older than Celberimbor himself.
* SmarterThanYouLook: Despite looking like he is insane, Krimp knows that Talion is not the Bright Lord and about what happened at Bara-dûr. If you insert him into the main game and fight him for one reason or another, he actually taunts him that he was a terrible choice for the Bright Lord's host; naturally, he thinks Eltariel would be a better one.
* TakingYouWithMe: [[spoiler:Flak "Flint" blows himself up along with his captor during the Seige of the Rogue Nazguls’ fort. Eltariel herself doesn’t react, but his blood brother screams his name in agony.]]
-->'''[[spoiler:Flak "Flint"]]:''' [[FacingTheBulletsOneLiner Got one word for ya, maggot]]: [[spoiler:[[CatchPhrase Boom]]]].
* TimeAbyss: As stated above, Ogg is several ''millenia'' old.
* UnexplainedAccent: The Architect has a Scottish accent, somehow.
* [[WasOnceAMan Was Once An Elf]]: Ogg, maybe. He wears elven armor and is the only Orc encountered with remains of a long, flowing white hair, which might be an allusion to the fact that some believe Orcs to have originated from corrupted elves.
* WhiteMaskOfDoom: Màku wears a mask with a white skull painted on it.
* YourDaysAreNumbered: Al-Baruk knows that he's a future dinner for Shelob -- and is perfectly fine with it.
[[/folder]]

[[folder:Forthog Orc-Slayer]]
!!Forthog Orc-Slayer
[[quoteright:350:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/forthog.jpg]]
[[caption-width-right:350:"[[BigDamnHero Your day will come, Ranger -- but not today!]]"]]
->Voiced by:

A legend among the Orcs of Mordor, Forthog Orcslayer is an unstoppable warrior who saves Mordor’s mightiest heroes at their moment of greatest need.
----
* AlternateCompanyEquivalent: He functions as Middle-earth's [[VideoGame/{{Fallout}} Mysterious Stranger]]: there's a chance he will appear to save Talion from death, much as the Mysterious Stranger will suddenly appear to OneHitKill an opponent.
* BadassBeard: Mixed with a touch of BeardOfSorrow.
* BaldOfAwesome: And he doesn't even care about it being exposed to the wintry elements.
* BigDamnHero: His role in the game is to save Talion from being killed every so often.
* BloodKnight: His only reaction to seeing an enormous horde of Orcs bearing down on him is to give a little smile.
* BodyPaint: An elaborate patterned tattoo covers his back.
* TheDrifter: Of the WalkingTheEarth variety.
* {{Foreshadowing}}: Forthog knows what's in store for Talion. One of his particularly subtle lines is "You must travel the long road, Ranger. The ''long road'' will get you home."
* InMemoriam: The character is based on Monolith's executive producer Mike Forgey, who was nicknamed "Forthog". He [[http://www.develop-online.net/news/shadow-of-mordor-exec-producer-michael-forgey-passes-away/0217581 passed away]] during development from cancer in 2016. The character is being released as part of a free story DLC. [[invoked]]
* InkSuitActor: As such, the character [[http://i.imgur.com/UNRr9us.jpg strongly resembles]] Forgey, especially the BadassBeard. [[https://techraptor.net/wp-content/uploads/2016/03/michael-forgey-cover.png He wielded an axe, too.]]
* InstrumentOfMurder: Wields a crude lute-like instrument with a blade attached.
* MysteriousProtector: His official title is "Mysterious Savior". His role is to randomly show up to save Talion from death. He can even take out Overlords.
* NonStandardCharacterDesign: Forthog, being directly modeled on a human, has very little resemblance to any of the other Uruks in-game with his relatively fine facial features and full-grown, fair-haired beard. Possibly he might even be a Goblin-man/Half-Orc.
* OneManArmy: He doesn't even blink when surrounded by Orcs -- and the Orcs know it.
* ShroudedInMyth: As described above, his exploits have made him TheDreaded among the Orcs of Mordor.
* StealthHiBye: He comes out of nowhere to aid Talion when fighting an Olog.
* ThemeSong: [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=A_OsXLsS97s "Back Home"]] by The Cold That Lasts All Winter.
* UnderdogsNeverLose: Forthog will ''always'' be lower leveled than the Captain he kills, often over 10 levels. This includes Legendary Captains and Overlords.
* WhatCouldHaveBeen: One of Forthog's lines after saving Talion: "In another time, we could have been friends!" [[invoked]]
[[/folder]]

[[folder:Serka]]
!Serka the Unkillable
* AndYourRewardIsClothes: Serka is unlocked as a skin for Talion after one completes the DLC with a gold rating.
* BadBoss: The first time we see anyone question Serka's dominance, they end up with a crossbow bolt in the shoulder and wyrm teeth everywhere else. According to Serka, this level of ruthlessness is part of the job description of a mercenary leader. Of course, [[JustifiedTrope as "questioning Serka's dominance" translates to "betraying Serka to the orcs and leaving him to get butchered by them," Serka is understandably not in a forgiving mood]].
* CallBack: A twofer.
** Serka offers Baranor a "family discount" on hiring mercenaries if Baranor will assist him in raiding a treasure caravan. Later on, after Baranor saves Serka from the Circus, a grateful Serka makes good on his word, and [[GameplayAndStoryIntegration all mercenaries are cheaper to recruit from then on]].
** Also near the beginning of the story, when Baranor reiterates his desire to conquer Lithlad's fortress, Serka voices a sarcastic hope that Baranor's got a "great plan" to do so. Later, when Baranor outlines his plan of attack to Serka, the latter sincerely compliments it.
* DarkAndTroubledPast: Serka was separated his brother while they were still boys, and not too long afterwards, his parents (and presumably the majority of his village) were murdered by marauding mercenaries, who kidnapped and raised him. After a successful but bloody defense of the Oasis, he also confides to Baranor that this isn't the first time he's lost everything, although it's unknown whether he's referring to losing his family and home or to another incident.
* TheDeterminator: As he tells Baranor after a hard-fought battle, he is called the Unkillable not because he has never lost, but because he never stops fighting.
* HeadSwap: Like Baranor, the Serka skin replaces Talion's head and arms, but the available equipment will not change.
* LargeHam: Serka is nothing if not an excellent showman.
* LongLostRelative: He is Baranor's brother Jagai.
* TheMagnificent: [[IHaveManyNames Serka the Unkillable, Serka the Insufferable, Serka the Destroyer.]] [[LampshadeHanging He has many of these.]]
* TheQuisling: Baranor considers Serka this for being hired by Marauder Orcs to protect their plunder of Gondorian gold.
* RaisedByOrcs: He and Baranor's parents were killed by the very same mercenaries he now rules over.
* ThatManIsDead: In a conversation with Baranor, Serka claims that he let Jagai die, since Jagai can be killed while Serka cannot.
* TheTrickster: Serka's been making quite the pretty penny literally robbing the caravans he's been hired and paid by the orcs to protect.
[[/folder]]

[[folder:The Vanishing Sons]]
A mercenary group operating from Lithlad.
* BadassNormal: The are just normal humans but are capable of going toe-to-toe with Nemesis Orcs.
* ConsummateProfessional: They will never betray Baranor since he paid for them.
* OnlyInItForTheMoney: The obey anyone who pays them.
* PaletteSwap: Subverted. They have the exact same function as orcs have in the main game, but these guys have human-unique traits and never betray Baranor. They also have custom animations and can be commanded in both combat and stealth. (Orcs can only be commanded from stealth.)
[[/folder]]

!!Antagonists - Introduced in ''Mordor''

[[folder:Sauron]]
!!Sauron
[[quoteright:350:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/sauron.png]]
[[caption-width-right:350:''As the Dark Lord'']]
[[quoteright:350:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/annatar.jpg]]
[[caption-width-right:350:''As Annatar'']]
->Voiced by: Creator/SteveBlum

The second Dark Lord to terrorize Middle-earth, defeated long ago by the Last Alliance of Men and Elves, he has returned to Mordor after a two-and-a-half thousand year absence.
----
* AdaptationalBadass: ''Vastly'' more powerful than in the original books, and notably because he lacks a canon handicap. In the events of the books, Eru deliberately takes away his ability to assume an attractive form after the Downfall of Ar-Pharazon. In the games, he still has it, and is apparently able to project telepathic messages to unwilling recipients from hundreds of miles away, and possibly also teleport.
* AssimilationBackfire: A rather big one. [[spoiler:In the end, Sauron absorbs Celebrimbor, but they both end up fighting for control over their fusion and it puts them in ModeLock in the form of the Eye above Barad-dûr.]] This means he can't physically manifest and negates most of his best powers. The only thing he gets in exchange is some long range TrueSight, an immense downgrade from the threat he was.
* TheBadGuyWins: Sauron wins and triumphs over every opponent he meets face to face...[[PyrrhicVictory unfortunately for him, he's often loathe to call them triumphs]]. [[spoiler:Talion was corrupted by Isildur's ring and becomes one of the Nazgul, but manages to keep his senses long enough to keep Sauron's armies off-balance until Frodo gains the ring, thanks in no small part to his nifty new Ringwraith powers. He defeats Celebrimbor and fuses the wraith to himself, and ends up stripped of most of his powers and trapped in the form of the Lidless Eye. And way, way in the future, the One Ring finally overtakes Frodo's mind right on the slopes of Mount Doom, almost guaranteeing he'd get it back with no trouble...then Gollum accidentally destroys it]].
* BeCarefulWhatYouWishFor: The original ''Shadow of Mordor'' made it pretty clear Sauron brought Celebrimbor back from the dead in order to absorb his power. At the end of ''Shadow of War'', [[spoiler:Sauron succeeds in absorbing Celebrimbor into himself, but as a result ends up (seemingly involuntarily) turning into an immobile giant flaming eye for his trouble, losing many of his more useful powers.]]
* BeautyEqualsGoodness: Averted spectacularly. Annatar is easily the prettiest character in the series, but has the blackest, most cruel of hearts.
* BerserkButton: He does ''not'' like people playing with the [[SoulJar One Ring]].
* BigBad: Of the ''Bright Lord'' DLC and all of ''Shadow of War''.
* BishonenLine: Almost literally when [[spoiler:he duels against Celebrimbor and Eltariel in his elvish form during the first and third phase of the final boss]].
* BitchInSheepsClothing: Presented himself as a friendly elf that wanted to help Celebimbor perfect ring-craftings. Turns out he was one of Middle Earth's most foul overlords.
* CarryABigStick: He wields the black blade-flanged mace his film counterpart does. In-game, it also sends victims [[BlownAcrossTheRoom sailing quite a distance away]].
* CastingAShadow: He's often wreathed in a dark aura.
* ClippedWingAngel: It's strongly suggested that [[spoiler: fusing with Celebrimbor]] is what causes him to lose all the powers he demonstrated in ''The Hobbit'' film trilogy and the two ''Shadow of Mordor'' games, essentially [[ShapeshifterModeLock Mode Locking]] him into the form of the giant flaming eye.
* CurbStompBattle: [[spoiler:Sauron's fight with Celebrimbor in the flashbacks doesn't last long after the Ring returns to its master.]]
* DisproportionateRetribution: Sauron is very fond of doing this to people who press his BerserkButton: [[spoiler: Celebrimbor, who tried to steal the One Ring and use it against Sauron, was beaten to death with his own smithing hammer after being forced to watch the murders of his wife and daughter, and Isildur, who took the One Ring as a trophy of victory over Sauron, was killed in an Orc ambush after the One Ring betrayed him, after which his corpse was taken to Barad-dûr, where Sauron turned him into one of the Nazgûl]].
* DarkIsEvil: He is normally clad in spiny black armor that makes his nature as an evil warlord blatantly obvious.
* EvilOverlord: He's not known as the Dark Lord for nothing.
* TheEvilsOfFreeWill: According to Shelob, Sauron believes freedom is a detrimental chaos.
* EvilSoundsDeep: As befitting the Dark Lord of Mordor, he speaks in a notably deep voice. Inverted as Annatar, in which his voice becomes almost [[SoftspokenSadist disturbingly gentle]].
* FauxAffablyEvil: His Annatar form is an idealized regal Elf but signals no chance in his behavior. If anything - in keeping with his history in the Silmarillion - he'll do worse things.
* FinalBoss:
** Of the ''Bright Lord'' DLC, without any ambiguity. It's you and your Warchiefs versus him and a big mob of Uruks.
** [[spoiler:Done a little strangely in ''Shadow of War''. He is the final major storyline opponent you fight, but you still have to survive five fortress defenses after the fight with him.]]
* FlunkyBoss: In his boss fight at the end of ''Bright Lord'', Uruk mooks are constantly pouring in to attack you. As the fight progresses, he turns your [[BossInMookClothing Warchiefs]] against you too to spice things up further.
* FusionDance: [[spoiler:He absorbs Celebrimbor's soul unto himself and the two are turned into the flaming red eye at the top of Barad-dur]].
* GoodEyesEvilEyes: When he tries more attractive appearance like the Annatar form or [[spoiler: the Hand]] his eyes have a red evil glare to them. Flashback shows he could hide it with occasional GlamorFailure in his Annatar form.
* GreaterScopeVillain: For all the goings-on in Mordor. [[spoiler:Subverted in that he could secretly be the Black Hand.]]
* HeadsIWinTailsYouLose: He does this a lot:
** In the ''Bright Lord'' DLC, after being defeated by Celebrimbor, he simply summons the One Ring back to his hand and completely curbstomps the elf lord.
** [[spoiler:In ''Shadow of War'', this is his final boss in a nutshell. Celebrimbor actually manages to subdue and brand him, but Sauron resists long enough to cut off the fingers of his host Eltariel and then absorbs Celebrimbor into himself]].
* HoistbyHisOwnPetard: Three-fold: 1. Via ForegoneConclusion, [[spoiler: the One Ring, investing so much of his very being into it that it’s destruction renders him into a harmless entity.]] 2. [[spoiler: His fusing with/Dominating Celebrimbor costs him much of his powers, rendering him into the lidless Eye and unable to do anything other than use his “Sight”.]] 3. In a more roundabout way, [[spoiler: the murder of Celebrimbor, Talion, and their families not only sets the former two on a RoaringRampageofRevenge, but through their bond they could easily take control of the Orcs. Even though Sauron still ends up victorious at the end of ''Shadow of War'', Talion and Celebrimbor’s efforts kept Sauron from attacking and overrunning the rest of Middle-earth, and Gondor in particular, long enough for the One Ring to be destroyed.]]
* HumanoidAbomination: Sauron is a [[FallenAngel corrupted Maia]] who -- when able to manifest a physical body -- takes the form of a towering humanoid figure clad in spiny black armor. He can change shape at will and in the past often assumed the form of a Vanyar elf named Annatar, [[spoiler:and ''Shadow of Mordor''[='=]s final boss fight indicates he either possessed or ''was'' the Black Hand]].
* ISurrenderSuckers: Referencing what happened to Numenor, Sauron capitulates to Suladân's invading army rather than bothering to fight. He offers a Ring as a token of his surrender...
* IWasQuiteALooker: In flashbacks, he looks like a handsome young elf with [[RedEyesTakeWarning red eyes]]. [[spoiler:At the end of the second game, he is a horrifying, gigantic flaming eye]].
* KickTheDog: Even after his true nature is revealed, he seems to take sadistic pleasure in taking the form of Annatar when interacting with Celebrimbor.
* LightIsNotGood: In flashbacks, he takes on the shape of a white-robed, fair-skinned and blond Vanyar elf named Annatar, the Lord of Gifts. [[spoiler:He assumes Annatar's form during the fight between him and Celebrimbor and Eltariel.]]
* ManipulativeBastard: Among other things, the Rings of Power were forged through his manipulations.
* MindRape:
** In a flashback, he does this [[spoiler:to Celebrimbor by holding the One Ring in front of him and chanting "Ash nazg durbatulûk, ash nazg gimbatul, Ash nazg thrakatulûk agh burzum-ishi krimpatul." until Celebrimbor breaks and joins in.]].
** Inverted in his boss fight in the ''Bright Lord'' DLC, where he delivers your Warchiefs from their brainwashing.
* {{Necromancer}}: ''The'' Necromancer, as a matter of fact. And he shows it off in his ''Bright Lord'' boss fight by resurrecting his dead Warchiefs after you kill them once.
** Taken further in ''Shadow of War'', where Sauron explicitly brings dead Uruk captains back to life with necromancy, granting them dark curses that make them immune to branding.
* NoHoldsBarredBeatdown: Unleashes one on a major character in a flashback. [[spoiler:To be specific, he beats Celebrimbor to death with a smithing hammer for stealing the One Ring.]]
* NoSell: In his boss fight at the end of the ''Bright Lord'' DLC, it's actually possible to try and combat-brand Sauron. He just throws you off, though, but it must take balls to even consider the idea. It's shown in ''Shadow of War'' that [[spoiler:he is able to resist being dominated when Celebrimbor tries to dominate him, long enough to separate Eltariel from the New Ring]].
* PyrrhicVictory: [[spoiler:Absorbing Celebrimbor into himself turned him into an immobile giant eye, and it took decades of throwing his best warriors against Talion before the latter finally succumbed to his power -- by which point Middle-earth had long recovered from his first invasion and Frodo inherited the One Ring.]]
* ReforgedIntoAMinion: Has a talent for this, he did this to the Nazgul, [[spoiler:then to Isildur, and then to Celebrimbor, and finally Talion. Everyone who opposed him has finally been conquered, bent, and corrupted by him]].
* SuperOCD: Shelob's narration implies Sauron has this to some degree. She states he finds nature to be terrifying and has an overwhelming need for order in all things. She also speculates that this is why he chose [[TinTyrant a shell of metal]] as his physical avatar.
* TinTyrant: He sports his armoured look from [[Film/LordOfTheRings the films]].
* UnholyMatrimony: Its revealed that [[spoiler:he took Shelob as his bride, before he decided to leave her to be killed by Sûladan's men]].
* VoiceOfTheLegion: Sauron, in both his Annatar and armoured forms, possesses a deep, echoing voice. This is made particularly apparent when [[spoiler:Celebrimbor and Eltariel confront him atop Barad-dûr after betraying Talion.]]
* WhenAllYouHaveIsAHammer: In his final boss fight in "The Bright Lord" DLC for ''Shadow of Mordor'', Sauron is limited to heavy attacks with his mace and occasionally countering you with a grab attack if you try to melee him. He has no ranged attacks or any magical attacks at all; even the Hammer could use a SwordBeam, use Force Push, and had an [=AOE=] spell attack in addition to smashing with his mace. However, his heavy attacks have massive [=AOE=] of their own (just like in the prologue to the films), so he doesn't really need it for close combat. He still has no defense against being sniped from the rooftops other than having an insane amount of health, though.
* WouldHitAGirl: [[spoiler:Murders Celebrimbor's wife and daughter in front of him for daring to steal the One Ring. He also doesn't hold back against Eltariel, nor does he hesitate to slice off her fingers]].
* WouldHurtAChild: [[spoiler:As mentioned above, he murdered Celebrimbor's daughter]].
* WreathedInFlames: He can manifest an eye-shaped aura of flames around himself, with his silhouette forming the pupil.
[[/folder]]

[[folder:The Black Hand]]
!!The Black Hand of Sauron
[[quoteright:333:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/the_blach_hand.jpg]]
[[caption-width-right:333:''"Come back to me, elf-lord!"'']]
->Voiced by: Creator/NolanNorth

Leader of the Black Captains, this Black Númenórean performed the ritual that summoned the Wraith that bonded with Talion. According to the Wraith, defeating him is the only way to break the curse tying them together.
----
* AdaptationalHeroism: He is available as an ally in the mobile version of ''War''. However, it's implied he is after the New Ring, downplaying this.
* AmbiguousSituation: It's unclear who or what exactly the Black Hand was because of how rushed and suddenly the climax was. Was he Sauron's human host like Talion-Celebrimbor? Was he just another upper level minion like the Tower and the Mouth of Sauron? Were any of the presented backstories correct? We will likely never know.
** If he had a Ring of Power, he could be one of the nine Nazgul pre-transformation, as his attire is very similar to [[spoiler:that worn by Ringwraith-Talion[[note]]Although with normal skin tone, but this could be explained by the fact that Talion was already long dead when he was turned[[/note]]]] in the sequel. The spiky armor and glowing eyes also suggests this. However, this would still not explain Sauron's sudden appearance and as mentioned, he doesn't seem to have a ring.
* {{BFS}}: He wields a large longsword.
* BigBad: The villain behind Talion and the Wraith's woes in ''Shadow of Mordor''.
* BlackSpeech: Says the incantation to summon the Wraith in the Black Speech.
* {{Foreshadowing}}:
** For the spoilers: [[spoiler:"Come back to me, Elf Lord." Emphasis on the "me."]]
** His eyes also glow a shade of orange, not unlike fire...
* HumanoidAbomination: He looks like a man with lank black hair, but he's anything but.
* InTheHood: He wears a hooded cloak and never takes the hood off, adding to his sinister appearance.
* MultipleChoicePast: Rumours of his rise to power range from killing the two Blue Wizards to being an old ally of Sauron to even being the Dark Lord himself. [[spoiler:The last one is [[AmbiguousEnding possibly true]].]]
* PromotedToPlayable: The Power of Shadow DLC gives the player access to a Black Hand skin.
* SlashedThroat: Gives Talion and his family an ImpromptuTracheotomy as part of the HumanSacrifice ritual to summon the Wraith. [[spoiler:He later does it to himself to extract Celebrimbor out of Talion and draw him into himself]].
* SupernaturalGoldEyes: He has red-rimmed yellow irises, which occasionally glow red.
* TinTyrant: In the final boss fight, he [[spoiler:reveals himself to either be Sauron himself, a WillingChanneler for Sauron's power, or able to [[InstantArmor conjure armour identical to the Dark Lord's]].]]
* WreathedInFlames: When he [[spoiler:assumes his true form]], his body becomes wreathed in flame.

[[/folder]]

[[folder:The Hammer]]
!!The Hammer of Sauron
[[quoteright:349:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/hammer_6.jpg]]
[[caption-width-right:349:''"The ranger from the black gate..."'']]
->Voiced by: Creator/JohnDiMaggio

An immortal human, survivor of the Last Alliance of Elves and Men, taken by the Dark Lord and made one of his greatest lieutenants.
----
* AdaptationalHeroism: Like all the main antagonists of ''Shadow of Mordor'', he is available as a character in the mobile version of ''War'', and goes against Sauron's armies.
* TheAgeless: While he doesn't look young by any stretch of imagination, he certainly doesn't show his true age of two and a half thousand years.
* TheBrute: The most physically imposing of the Black Captains who's not afraid to smash his enemies with his mace.
* CoDragons: Both he and the Tower serve as this to the Black Hand.
* ContractualBossImmunity: The Hammer cannot be vaulted or stunned, and immediately counterattacks with a telekinetic shove to break your combo meter if you throw a throwing dagger at him. He's still vulnerable to regular attacks, counters, and being shot in the head, but since his health is so high (he's got twice as much health as an Orc Captain) you're pretty much expected to kill him with combat finishers.
* DiscOneFinalBoss: [[spoiler:Only after defeating him does Talion get access to the second half of the game.]]
* DropTheHammer: Wields a mace with a skeleton motif, said to be the same one that Sauron used against the Last Alliance. The fact that the Hammer's mace looks nothing like Sauron's and that Sauron himself retains the use of his mace calls this into question.
* ExactWords: [[spoiler: The Tower stops him from killing Talion on the spot, pointing out the Black Hand wants him alive. The Hammer settles for pummelling Talion unconcious, pointing out that Talion will live from such injuries.]]
* EvilIsHammy: Exhibits much of this during his battle with Talion.
-->'''Hammer of Sauron''': The Dark Lord will '''''RULE!'''''
* EvilGloating: Does this to Talion just before their final fight. All it does, however, is slam down Talion's BerserkButton.
-->'''Hammer of Sauron''': Where was your bravery when [[ILetGwenStacyDie we bled your wife, and gutted your son?!]]
* FromNobodyToNightmare: He's one of Sauron's Black Captains now, but he used to be a stretcher-bearer for Gondor.
* GoodScarsEvilScars: His face is covered in scars of the evil variety.
* MagicKnight: On top of smashing things with his mace, he has a few basic black sorcery moves as well.
* MirrorBoss: He has a few magic attacks that mirror your basic Wraith abilities; his ground-slam area-of-effect attack is basically a black sorcery version of Wraith Flash, and he has a "Force Push" move that's functionally similar to your throwing daggers, dealing limited damaging but breaking your chain combo.
* NiceJobFixingItVillain: He spitefully slams his mace onto Talion's hand, scarring it, before knocking him out. Said scar serves the focal point from which the Wraith uses its powers.
* NotSoDifferent: Before [[spoiler: Talion kills him, the Hammer mockingly infers that the darkness the Ranger seeks to destroy has already begun to claim him]].
* PlayingWithFire: He occasionally lobs a fireball at Talion during their fight.
* SurroundedByIdiots: Considers his Uruk minions useless and little more than fodder to slow Talion's blade in their boss fight. He's also incredulous about the fact the Warchiefs seemingly could do nothing to stop Talion's rampage.
-->'''Hammer of Sauron''': So the local Warchiefs did '''''NOTHING''''' to prevent this sacrilege?!
* SwordBeam: He can slam the ground with his mace, sending a fireball at you at range.
* WakeUpCallBoss: He mixes regular attacks that need to be countered and heavy attacks that need to be dodged, and has ContractualBossImmunity against the more basic exploitable moves like vaulting and Wraith Stun. Some Orc Captains have one or two of these attributes but the Hammer is likely the first opponent you'll face that has them all.
* WasOnceAMan: His bio says this verbatim, elaborating that he was once a stretcher-bearer for Gondor that found Sauron's mace and succumbed to bloodlust.
* YouHaveFailedMe: He unceremoniously executes [[spoiler:Ratbag the Coward]] for failing to protect The Gorthaur from destruction.
* YouDontLookLikeYou: His mace is said to be the same one Sauron once wielded, but looks quite different from the one seen in flashbacks. Justified by the fact that Sauron's gear is shown to shapeshift with him.

[[/folder]]

[[folder:The Tower]]
!!The Tower of Sauron
[[quoteright:349:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/tower.jpg]]
[[caption-width-right:349:''"The Black Hand wants him alive!"'']]
->Voiced by: Creator/JBBlanc

One of the Dark Lord's lieutenants, cursed to never stop growing, but remain within armor that remains the same size. It slowly constricts him, and his only joy is in spreading pain to others.
----
* AdaptationalHeroism: Like the Black Hand and the Hammer, he is available as an ally in the mobile version of ''War''.
* AffablyEvil: He's very polite and precise in his speech, but still clearly evil.
* BodyHorror: He's continually growing in armour that's increasingly too small for him.
* CoDragons: Both he and the Hammer serve as this to the Black Hand.
* EvilKnockoff: In the sequel, orcs with the title "The Pretender" wear armor identical to his but don't have his voice or skill in mind tricks, so they opt to have a gang of decoys follow them instead.
* FacialHorror: His lower jaw looks downright necrotic.
* GenuineHumanHide: The flesh of two human faces hang like banners from his SpikesOfVillainy.
* KneelBeforeZod: "Bow before me, and I will deliver you to the Dark Lord unspoiled."
* LargeAndInCharge: He's the largest humanoid character in the game, standing well over 7 feet tall and being even larger than the Hammer.
* LegacyCharacter: In ''Shadow of War'', you can find an Uruk who bears his title, wears his armor, and, most worryingly, speaks in his voice.
* MalevolentMutilation: As he grows into his armour, it increasingly intersects with his skin, steel plates digging into his flesh, and the gorget over his lower face has cut away his lips, leaving him with a grotesque rictus.
* MagicKnight: On top of being a black sorcerer, he carries a pair of Mordor swords on his back and will handily beat up Talion with his fists if he grabs him, suggesting this trope.
* MasterOfIllusion: He seems able to affect the perceptions of those around him, seeming to force them to think he is where he is not. Even his speech seems to come from this, as he barely moves his mouth ([[FacialHorror and would have trouble forming words as well as he does with no lips anyway]].)
* MaybeMagicMaybeMundane: As mentioned above, some orcs in ''War'' wear his armor and speak in his voice. However, an another orcs type, "The Pretender" ''doesn't'' have his distinctive voice despite wearing identical armor. So either the voice is a complete coincidence, or his armor does something to those it finds worthy of the title.
* MesACrowd: [[spoiler: During his boss battle' there are actually multiple copies of the Tower wandering the keep, though you probably wouldn't notice unless you use Wraith Vision to observe through the walls.]]
* MultipleChoicePast: His lore entry says this in regards to his moniker - Either he built a tower during his mortal life, or was locked away inside of one.
* OffscreenTeleportation: Has shown to be [[StealthHiBye absent one moment and present when turning back around]].
* PuzzleBoss: [[spoiler:You don't fight him directly. His boss fight consists of multiple stealth attacks.]]
* RasputinianDeath: [[spoiler: Talion stabs him multiple times in the chest with his dagger, then kills the Tower by [[ImpaledWithExtremePrejudice pinning him to the floor by driving a sword through his throat]].]]
* SpikesOfVillainy: He has several spike-like protrusions coming out from his back.
* VocalDissonance: His hulking, monstrous appearance belies a surprisingly smooth, calm voice.
* WeCanRuleTogether: Infers this when he [[spoiler: invites Celebrimbor to cast Talion aside and take a place with them at Sauron's side]].
-->'''Tower of Sauron''': [[spoiler: The Dark Lord forgives you, Celebrimbor. Return to him, and cast aside this human corpse]].
* WhamLine: [[spoiler: Reveals that Celebrimbor chose Talion as a host rather than being forced upon him]].
-->'''Tower of Sauron''': [[spoiler: Celebrimbor is your curse, Ranger. He ''chose'' you. And he can release you at any time]].
* WouldHitAGirl: Holds Ioreth at swordpoint to force Talion to surrender in the prologue, and later orders his Orc minions to torture [[spoiler: Lithariel]] for information on Talion, then leave her corpse where he can find it once they're finished.
-->'''Tower of Sauron''': [[ColdBloodedTorture When you're done with her]], [[DeadGuyOnDisplay hang her]]. ''High''. Make sure the Gravewalker can find her.

[[/folder]]

[[folder:The Talons]]
!!The Talons of the Black Hand

Five Uruk Captains who serve as the Black Hand's most senior enforcers and commanders.

* RedIsViolent: All of them use blood-red armor and are the most elite of Black Hand's forces.
* SuperSoldier: Vat-grown to be the Black Hand's fiercest warriors and generals, [[GameplayAndStorySegregation not that they're more dangerous than any other mid-level captains]].
* WeHardlyKnewYe: They're unlikely to all get a chance to introduce themselves to Talion before being slain during the final mission.
* WolfpackBoss: Individually they're not much tougher than a regular mid-level Orc Captain, but you fight all 5 of them at once in close formation. Then again, you have 5 Warchiefs of your own backing you up in the fight, so it's still not too much of a challenge.
[[/folder]]

!!Antagonists - Introduced in ''War''

[[folder:The Witch-king]]
!!The Witch-king of Angmar
[[quoteright:350:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/shadow_of_war_witch_king.png]]
->Voiced by: Creator/MatthewMercer

Formerly one of the nine kings of Men gifted Rings of Power by Sauron, the Witch-king and his fellows were corrupted by both the Nine Rings and their own greed and ambition until they were transformed into the ''Nazgûl'' or Ringwraiths, monstrous revenants enslaved to the will of the Dark Lord. He appears in ''Shadow of War'' alongside the rest of the Nine with orders from Sauron to track down the Bright Lord and take the New Ring.
----
* AffablyEvil: He's generally polite and civil to Tailon, often trying to just verbally coax him into giving up in a manner that doesn't involve gloating or taunting. [[spoiler:After Tailon takes up Isildur's Ring and becomes a wraith, the Witch-king welcomes him at the start of the penultimate boss fight, calling him 'brother' and clearly not desiring (or seeing the point in) a fight. And when Talion finally gives into the ring's corruption, the Witch-king appears before him in a congratulatory friendly manner, placing a hand on his shoulder and sounding genuinely pleased that he's finally come around, but also sympathetic to his defiance, basically saying, "You fought the good fight, but it's over now."]]
* ArchEnemy: To Talion. Unlike the Tower and the Hand from the previous game, he focuses more on the ranger than Celebrimbor and [[spoiler:is the final boss for Talion when he seizes Minas Morgul]].
* CarryABigStick: Like his book and film incarnations, the Witch-king's weapon of choice is a brutal looking mace similar to his master's.
* DemonicPossession: Can do this to [[MeatPuppet fallen Orcs]] in order to speak to Talion.
-->'''Witch-king:''' I come for ''you'', Talion of Gondor.
* TheDragon: He's one of Sauron's highest-ranking lieutenants. [[spoiler:Fittingly, he is the penultimate boss in the story mode fought just before Sauron]].
* DragonRider: The Nine usually go to war mounted on the back of Fell beasts, huge dragon-like reptiles. At the time of ''Shadow of War'', they've traded up for drakes (infertile crossbreeds of dragon and fell-beast [[LivingWeapon bred solely for war]]).
* TheDreaded: While the Nazgûl as whole all have this status, it's the Witch-king that people fear the most.
* EmptyShell: Being the first he's been so corrupted by the ring of power he received from Sauron for so long that none of his original human self remains, unlike other Nazgûl. Tallion can't even peer into his mind because of this.
* TheFaceless: The faces of the Nazgûl are hidden behind the cloaks and masks they wear.
* {{Foil}}: To Talion. The Appendices notes that Sauron is to Celebrimbor as the Witch-king is to Talion.
* GodzillaThreshold: From Sauron's perspective, unleashing all nine of the Ringwraiths to deal with Talion and Celebrimbor is a clear indication the Dark Lord is done playing around trying to eliminate the Gravewalker.
* ILied: [[spoiler: General Castamir makes a deal with the Witch-king, offering to hand over the Palantir in exchange for his daughter's life being spared. You have to wonder how stupid Castamir was for [[TooDumbToLive thinking the Witch-king would actually uphold his end of the bargain]].]]
-->'''[[spoiler: Castamir]]''': [[spoiler: You will hold to our bargain. My daughter's freedom...]]\\
'''Witch-king''': [[spoiler: She is free to die with her people!]]
** Invoked earlier during the ''Arena'' mission when [[spoiler: the Witch-king's agents have seemingly taken Castamir hostage and will spare him if Talion faces the Witch-king's champion in single combat. The Gondorian defenders immediately start making plans to break their general out of captivity, not trusting the Witch-king to honour his word]].
* ItsPersonal: The Witch-king holds a special hatred for all of Gondor. According to the Appendices, he especially wants to enslave Talion as a Nazgul because of that animosity he's held against Gondor for over 4,000 years.
* LightningBruiser: Hits like a truck, and is deceptively fast despite his size.
* SpikesOfVillainy: His armor comes with almost as many spikes as his master's.
* VoiceOfTheLegion: His voice has a menacing echo to it.
* WasOnceAMan: As is the case with all Nazgûl, he was once a human before being corrupted by one of the Nine Rings of Power.
* YouCannotFightFate: Invokes this when confronting Talion.
-->'''Witch-king:''' Submit to your destiny!
* YouHaveOutlivedYourUsefulness: [[spoiler: Once Castamir hands over the Palantir, the Witch-king [[RewardedAsATraitorDeserves wastes no time in killing him]].]]
[[/folder]]

[[folder:The Nazgûl]]
! The Black Riders.
[[quoteright:350:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/nazgul.jpg]]
[[caption-width-right:350:Their default appearance]]
Sauron's enforcers. '''Spoiler Warning!'''
* AdaptationalBadass: Their rings give each one unique powers, such as {{Necromancy}} or the ability to control Mordor's beasts.
* AdaptationDeviation: In the books they do not wear their rings. Sauron keeps the Nine (and the surviving Seven) in his own possession. Because of this their roles cannot be usurped, and the existing Nazgûl are still the original nine bearers. That being said, were they actually wearing them, it would likely work as it does in the game, with the rings ensnaring anyone foolish enough to claim them.
* AdaptationExpansion: Their roles, personalities, powers and backstories come up more than they did in the films.
* AdaptationNameChange: A variation, as their identities differ from the source material.
* AdaptationalPersonalityChange: When compared to their movie counterparts, at least. Instead of being practically the same character, each named Nazgûl here has their own unique personality and powers.
* DarkIsEvil: All of them wear black-concealing robes.
* EvilCounterpart: Talion with Celebrimbor's powers is practically a heroic version of them.
* EvilSoundsDeep: Just like Sauron.
* TheFaceless: Not only are their faces covered by their hoods, they also now have metal masks covering them. The masks likely exist so we could tell them apart.
* FallenHero: Several of them were great warriors that stood against Sauron, but succumbed to his influence and now are his most powerful minions.
* FateWorseThanDeath: Become a slave for the Dark Lord, and lose your identity in the progress? Yep.
* FlatCharacter: The unnamed Nazgûl. They aren't really important to the story, have only a handful of lines, and have the same basic mask design. (Seen in their picture on the right)
* InTheHood: They all wear black hoods.
* KlingonPromotion: If one actually dies, whoever puts on the ring they drop takes their place.
* LegacyCharacter: In this version of Middle-earth, several have actually been killed. However, their rings seem to always end on someone elses hand, either by coincidence, intentionally, or even because their killer felt it looked nice.
* MirrorMatch: Due to their powers being similar to Talion's, their boss fights have shades of this.
* NoSell: As they exist in both normal and wraith worlds, they can see Talion if he is invisible and are not slowed down if he uses ranged weapons. They also cannot be knocked down, and are immune to status effects.
* ResurrectiveImmortality: As long as they still have their rings on them when they die, they simply wake up in Barad-dûr some time later. As [[spoiler:Isildur's]] flashback shows, this also applies retroactively.
* SpikesOfVillainy: While not as spiky as Sauron's, their armor still have them.
* VoiceOfTheLegion: Their voices echo when they talk.
* WalkingSpoiler: Their identities and backstories, which are largely unmarked below. Especially one of them, [[spoiler:the ranger Talion]], who only appears in Acts III and IV.
* WasOnceAMan: Although their identities differ from the source material, they still were all human before their falls.

! Talion
[[caption-width-right:350:[[labelnote:Click to see spoilers]]https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/ringwraith_v2.jpg[[/labelnote]]]]
A ranger from Gondor, who took his ring from the recently killed Isildur to protect Middle-earth from both Sauron and/or his former ally Celebrimbor, after the latter betrayed him and left him to die. He and his army of orcs defended Middle-earth from Sauron's forces and resisted the ring's influence for decades, before it finally won and he joined the nine. His sacrifice would not be in vain, as his actions delayed Sauron's conquest of Middle-earth, [[Literature/TheLordOfTheRings allowing its residents to form a fellowship and destroy the one Ring and Sauron]].

See his folder earlier on this page for tropes about him.

! Suladân
->Voiced by: Creator/GideonEmery
[[quoteright:350:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/suladan.jpg]]
One of the Nazgûl, Suladân was once a Haradian king who successfully waged war on Mordor to the point of marching his army right to the gates of Barad-dûr. Sauron surrendered to him and presented him with one of the 9 rings as a gift. Suladân took Sauron as his captive and advisor, causing him to quickly fall under Sauron's influence.
----
* AdaptationalBadass: He actually managed to conquer Mordor, but [[BrokeYourArmPunchingOutCthulhu fell under Sauron's influence]] when he made the mistake of accepting Sauron's gift of a ring of power as a token of surrender.
* AdaptationalHeroism: In the strategy board game, he was a Haradian vassal of Sauron. Here, his kingdom was opposed to Sauron and he only came into Sauron's service after being deceived with one of the 9 rings.
* BlingOfWar: In the board game he's known for his BlingOfWar, which carries over into his appearance in ''Shadow of War''. Even as a Nazgûl his appearance is somewhat more ornate than the other Nazgûl, besides the Witch-king himself.
* CompositeCharacter: Suladân was a minor character in the Middle Earth strategy board game; here, he's also given a backstory similar to King Ar-Pharazôn from the Silmarillion as a king who defeated Sauron militarily onto to fall under his influence while the Dark Lord served as his captive and advisor.
* YoungerThanTheyLook: After falling under Sauron's influence, he eventually suffers the same rapid aging that King Theodan and Queen Marwen did while under Saruman's control.

! Helm Hammerhand
[[quoteright:350:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/helm.jpg]]
[[caption-width-right:350:"Of all the Nazgûl, his fall was most tragic"]]
->Voiced by: Creator/FredTatasciore
The namesake of Helm's Deep and the ninth king of Rohan. After he refused to let Prince Siric of Dunland marry his daughter, Helm was fatally injured in an assassination attempt by Siric and his men, who also kidnapped his daughter. On his death bed at Edoras, Helm was visited by Sauron and Celebrimbor who offered him a ring as a way to rescue his daughter and exact revenge on the man who took her. [[DealWithTheDevil He accepted]]. After his recovery, he stormed Siric's castle with some of his own men, but in his rage he missed the killing blow and accidentally struck his own daughter dead. Furious about what had happened, Helm slaughtered everyone in the room, ''including his own men''.
----
* AdaptationDeviation: Other than the changes to the timeline, he is the subject to a smaller change as well. In the original lore, his name came from his skills in unarmed combat, as the sheer power of his punches was comparable to being hit by a hammer. Here he uses an actual hammer, though the fact he punches one of his soldiers hard enough to draw a decent amount of blood even with a helmet on suggest he still has great strength.
* AdaptationalVillainy: While only two Nazgul were ever named, there was no indication in the books or films that Helm Hammerhand was ever a Nazgûl, nor aligned with Sauron at all. ''Shadow of War'' includes him in their ranks, with his TragicVillain status showing a descent from his deeds in life, to becoming one of the Nine.
* BeastMaster: Summons caragors, ghuls and drakes during Talion's battle with him.
-->'''Helm Hammerhand''': [[BadassBoast I have hunted every beast in Middle-earth. And none has ever escaped me!]]
* TheBerserker: Becomes this [[spoiler: under the influence of the ring Sauron gave him]].
* CompositeCharacter: The original lore ''does'' state that after his death, there quickly rose legends of him becoming an undead wraith who continued to protect Rohan against its foes. The game fuses this with him being one of the Nazgul.
* CoolHelmet: Wears a horned mask, which calls back to a more impressive horned helmet he wore as a human king.
* DrunkOnTheDarkSide: [[spoiler:The influence of the Ring of Power that saved his life after an attempted assassination exacerbated his [[BloodKnight rage and bloodlust]] during his [[RoaringRampageOfRevenge attempt to rescue his daughter]] to the point that he accidentally murdered her, then in grief he killed her Dunlending husband and even [[BadBoss his own captains when they tried to stop him]].]]
* DropTheHammer: Both in life and in death, he uses the hammer that gave him his name.
* EmpoweredBadassNormal: The strong hunter and warrior-king became an implacable undead.
-->'''Celebrimbor''': Hammerhand was known for his strength in life. If anything he has grown more powerful in death.
* {{Foil}}: WordOfGod states that he is intended to be a parallel to Talion's story.
* PapaWolf: How Sauron corrupted him; [[spoiler: Sauron gave the dying Helm a Ring of Power with the promise it would give him the power to free his daughter from the man who had seemingly abducted her]].
-->'''Sauron''': ''[[spoiler: (placing the ring on Helm's finger)]]'' [[spoiler: For your daughter's safe return]].
* TragicVillain: Said to be one by Celebrimbor, the flashback Tallion sees during an encounter with him elaborates. [[spoiler:His daughter was kidnapped by a Dunlending rival who wanted to marry her and become king, and Helm himself was ambushed and fatally wounded. On his deathbed, Sauron and Celebrimbor visited him and gifted him a ring of power, which restored him and enabled him to launch a RoaringRampageOfRevenge. Unfortunately, Hammerhand eventually became so corrupted that he ended up killing his own daughter when she tried to stop him from getting at his rival.]]
* UnwantedRescue: It's strongly implied his daughter was in love with the man who "kidnapped" her.
* VillainHasAPoint: He's only a villain in light that he's a Nazgul, but back when he went after the man who took his daughter, he had a compelling argument for pursuing war with the Dunlanders: If they wanted peace, they really shouldn't have attempted to ''murder'' him in the first place.
* WasOnceAMan: As with the other Nazgûl.

!Isildur
[[quoteright:350:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/isildur.jpg]]
[[caption-width-right:350:[[{{Necromancer}} Your armies become mine.]]]]
->Voiced by: Creator/NolanNorth
Formerly one of the greatest heroes of Gondor, Isildur vanquished Sauron during the Battle of Dagorlad, but was corrupted by the One Ring which he had taken as a trophy of victory. He was killed after the Ring betrayed him during an orc ambush, but his body was recovered and brought to a still recovering Sauron, who then put one of the nine rings of power in Isildur's dead hand. This brought him back to life, [[FateWorseThanDeath but as Sauron's servant]].
----
* AdaptationDeviation: Like Helm Hammerhand, in the novels Isildur lived ''long'' after all of the Nazgûl came into existence. In this AlternateTimeline, Sauron turned him into one of the nine after he was killed in an Orc ambush and they brought his dead body before Sauron.
* ClimaxBoss: Fighting him marks the PointOfNoReturn and occurs just prior to the final duels against [[spoiler: the Witch-king]] and [[spoiler: Sauron himself]].
* CompositeCharacter: Isildur and the Nazgûl he became were likely separate characters in the books.
* TheCorruptible: He defeated Sauron, but rapidly succumbed to the One Ring's influence, refused to destroy it, and claimed it for himself.
-->'''Isildur:''' ''[wreathed in a Sauron-like aura of flames]'' ''I'' am the Lord of the Ring!
* DisproportionateRetribution: Presumably the reason [[spoiler: Sauron turned him into one of the Ringwraiths was punishment for daring to take the One Ring as a trophy]].
* FallenHero: He won the Battle of Dagorlad by cutting off Sauron's finger and separating him from the One Ring.
* InTheBack: Like his book counterpart, Isildur is killed after Orc archers shoot him multiple times in the back.
* IronicHell: The man who became hero after he defeated Sauron, is now forced to serve him.
* KlingonPromotion: [[spoiler: His permanent defeat leads to Talion being able to claim his minor Ring of Power.]]
* MercyKill: [[spoiler:After seeing his memories, Talion opts to put him out of his misery rather than dominate him as Celebrimbor intended]].
* {{Necromancer}}: He can summon and control the spirits of the dead to serve him in battle, similar to how Helm Hammerhand can control Mordor's wildlife.
* NoSell: While fleeing the orcs while wearing the One Ring, the arrows bounce off him. The moment it leaves him, however, they find their mark.
* OhCrap: The look on his face when the One Ring slips from his finger, leaving him visible and vulnerable to Orc archers screams this trope.
* TragicVillain: He was once the great king and hero of Gondor, but his corruption by the One Ring made him squander the opportunity to destroy Sauron for good and resulted in his becoming Sauron's slave as one of the Nine.
* UndeathAlwaysEnds: In a unique fashion, [[spoiler: Talion and the Wraith actually manage to Dominate him; but then Talion releases his spirit to death; cutting his ties to Sauron. This leaves an opening in the Nine.....]]
* WreathedInFlames: When he claims the One Ring as his own, he becomes surrounded by an aura of flames that make him look distinctly like Sauron.

!The Nazgûl Sisters
A pair of female Ringwraiths originated from the Middle-earth's equivalent of Far East, who killed two Nazgûl and stole their Rings of Power for themselves before assassinating their father to take the throne from him. They ruled the region for some time, amassing a fortune in the progress, before Sauron visited to add them to his ranks.
----
* AdaptationDeviation: There was no indication that the Nazgûl had female members and all of its members were said to be male. That said, they are shown to have taken their rings from male Nazgûl, so it technically still follows their idea as "kings of men" who took the Nine Rings.
* AllThereInTheManual: Their names are Yan Wei and Yan Qi, [[https://www.artstation.com/artwork/Lzmor according to their artist]].
* AmbitionIsEvil: To the extent they were willing to use the Rings of Power from two of the Nine to advance their goals.
** This continues even after they became Ringwraiths; the Sisters note that with Sauron distracted by his battle for supremacy with Celebrimbor and the Witch-king weakened by his defeat at Talion's hands, [[TheStarscream their plan is to raise an army of Orcs and conquer Middle-Earth for themselves]].
--->'''Rogue Nazgûl''': The Dark Lord and the Ringmaker burn atop Barad-dûr. The Witch-king is diminished. ''We are ascendant''!...You face the army we have assembled to dominate all of Mordor and you will have the honour of being its first triumph. And when your bodies lie broken on the battlefield, we will hack the Rings from your fingers and begin our conquest of Middle-Earth!
* ArcVillain: They are the actual villains in the ''Blade of Galadriel'' DLC, even though Talion is the FinalBoss fought right after they are defeated, he is an grudging ally for most of the expansion.
* BigBadDuumvirate: They aim to rule Middle-Earth together.
* ChainPain: They are capable of summoning chains to restrain Eltariel in combat.
* ContraltoOfDanger: They definitely sound just like the other Nazgul in the game, but are distinctive enough to tell they are female.
* CreepyTwins: Specially after their fall.
* DarkActionGirl: Notable in that they are the only explicit female enemies in the entire series.
* DualBoss: They fight as one against Elthariel.
* EvilCounterpart: To Eltariel and Talion. Like the former, they are [[ActionGirl formidable female fighters]] that managed to defeat [[HeroKiller Ringwraiths]] in direct combat, however, they turned against their masters due to ambition and thirst for power. Like the latter, they are rogue Ringwraith themselves, but while Talion dedicates himself to safeguard Middle-Earth from the forces of darkness, the Sisters want to command this darkness to [[TheStarscream overthrow Sauron and rule Middle-Earth themselves]].
* EvilPowerVacuum: With the Witch-king diminished by his defeat, Sauron locked in a eternal duel with Celebrimbor's spirit on top of Barad-dûr, and Talion waging all-out civil war throughout Mordor, the Nazgûl sisters swoop right in to fill the gap...and hopefully go up from there.
* GenderFlip: In the books, there is no mention of any queens among the fallen kings of men that fell to Sauron's corruption.
* FinishingEachOthersSentences: They speak in this way, for added creepiness factor.
* FromNobodyToNightmare: The Sisters are encountered by Talion during the events of the main game[[note]]There are only nine Nazgûl; Talion battles five anonymous Nazgûl simultaneously during the Fall of Minas Ithil, and the Witch-king, [[spoiler:Sûladan, Helm Hammerhand, and Isildur]] round out the ranks[[/note]], but he deals with them with little difficulty. During the Shadow Wars, they conquer the fortress at Gorgoroth and give Eltariel -- herself a veteran Nazgûl hunter -- a hard time during their clash.
* OffWithHisHead: They kill their father by first stabbing his chest and back, then using the chains attached to violently garrote his head off.
* {{Patricide}}: Culturally, the biggest crime they could commit.
* SamusIsAGirl: Since they wear full-body concealing robes like their male counterparts, it should come to quite a surprise that they are actually women. Their voice sounds different enough that you can tell them apart.
* TheStarscream: They seek to steal any Rings of Power they can so that can usurp Sauron for control of Mordor, and eventually take over Middle-earth.
* StockNinjaWeaponry: Befitting their {{Wutai}} origins, they seem to wield kusarigama.
* TooDumbToLive: Even after being warned by the Ringwraiths they defeated that the Rings of Power would control them, not the other way around, the sisters still took and willingly wore the rings they claimed as trophies of victory.
* UndyingLoyalty: To each other. In life and in undeath, while [[ChronicBackstabbingDisorder backstabbing every authority figure in their way]], they never turn against each other. They even share rulership of the fortress at Gorgoroth.
* TheUsurper: When their father and king demanded the Rings of Power they'd claimed as trophies, they instead chose to kill him and take his throne, ruling and slowly becoming more corrupted by the Rings until Sauron eventually came to claim them for the Nine.
* {{Wutai}}: Their realm of origin looks distinctly Asiatic and draws visual cues from Chinese and Japanese cultures.
* YouKillItYouBoughtIt: Like Talion, they are unique in that they obtained their rings by defeating the previous Nazgûl bearers in combat rather than actually being given them by Sauron. That doesn't stop "Annatar" from visiting when they're corrupted enough by the Rings.
[[/folder]]

[[folder:Zog the Eternal]]
[[quoteright:350:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/zogtheeternal.jpg]]
!Zog the Eternal
[[caption-width-right:350:''"The dead aren't dead. They're just waiting for someone who will listen."'']]
->Voiced by: Creator/NolanNorth

A Cursed Mystic Trickster orc and a recurring antagonist in ''Shadow of War''. When the forging of the New Ring awakens the dormant balrog Tar-Goroth beneath Gorgoroth, Zog and his cabal of acolytes emerge to try and harness the balrog's power, as well as perfect a means to create an army of the undead.
----
* ArcVillain: For the Carnán quests.
* AVillainNamedZrg: His name fits the convention.
* BackFromTheDead: Using his necromancy, he can resurrect orcs as revenants, including slain captains. [[spoiler:In the final chapter of Carnán's questline, his acolytes succeed in bringing ''him'' back from the dead as well, and it seems to be a perfect resurrection - he can revive repeatedly even from decapitation, and he's in full possession of his mental faculties (wereas most revenants are groaning, wretched monsters).]]
* BeatThemAtTheirOwnGame: [[InvokedTrope Invokes]] this in regards to using [[NightOfTheLivingMooks undead mooks]] to fight an undead protagonist.
-->'''Zog:''' You're the inspiration for all of this! What better army to defeat a dead man than a legion of undead orcs?
* BigBadWannabe: Zog is overly ambitious for an orc to presume he could enslave a Balrog [[spoiler:and overthrow the Dark Lord, an indestructible ''Maiar'']]. To his credit Celebrimbor does mention he can pull off the first objective, and he does prove to be a very persistent opponent.
* TheCatCameBack: After his story missions, he'll cheat death and join the Nemesis roster, [[spoiler:and he'll continue to come back over and over, even when decapitated or dismembered.]] He'll brag he's a {{Necromancer}} and that Talion is too stupid to understand that cheating death is fairly simple for someone like him.
-->'''Zog:''' Look at you; that teeny mind of yours, struggling to understand what's happening. ''"B-b-but, I killed him!"'' NO!! Death was but a minor inconvenience, and always will be. I am your better, Talion. You will ''never'' see the end of Zog!
* CatchPhrase: "Dimwit!"
* ContractualBossImmunity: Zog is an orc with several invulnerabilities: he is [[HeroicWillpower Unbreakable]] for one, meaning he can't be weakened, branded or shamed. He can also possibly develop immunities to stunning, ranged attacks, executions or being jumped over. [[spoiler:After becoming a revenant, Zog gains ResurrectiveImmortality that, among other things, allows him to recover from [[BeyondTheImpossible decapitations]].]]
* ChekhovsGunman: Has a brief EarlyBirdCameo during the mission "The Fall", where he and Talion briefly stare at each other from a distance as he and other uruks ride past on caragors to prepare for assault.
* ContinuityCavalcade: In the final major encounter with him, his acolytes resurrect several orcs that died during the battle for Minas Ithil. This results in each necromancy totem in the area being guarded by various zombified captains, [[CallBack each of which you killed during the first act of the game]].
* EarlyBirdCameo: During the final mission of Minas Ithil, Talion will lock eyes on a green-eyed Uruk, who turns out to be Zog later.
* HateSink: Zog is ''specifically'' designed to make players absolutely ''hate his guts''.
* HijackingCthulhu: Zog seeks to ensorcel Tar Goroth and use him as a weapon [[spoiler:to usurp control of Mordor from Sauron]]. Carnán and Celebrimbor indicate that he ''would'' be able to control Tar Goroth with dark magic, but whether he could use the Balrog to [[spoiler:overthrow Sauron]] is another question.
* {{Necromancer}}: He can use dark magic to resurrect dead orcs [[spoiler:and himself too]].
* NightOfTheLivingMooks: He uses an army of dead orcs and even dead captains, including himself.
* PlotParallel: Zog trying to dominate Tar-Goroth mirrors [[spoiler:Celebrimbor trying to dominate Sauron. Both plans fail.]]
* ResurrectiveImmortality: [[spoiler: After becoming a revenant, Zog can return to life as many times as he wants and can even survive decapitation - normally the one thing that can [[KilledOffForReal certainly kill off]] most orcs.]]
* TheStarscream: [[spoiler:He seeks to use Tar-Goroth to overpower Sauron and rule Mordor himself.]]
* TooDumbToLive: Subverted, Trying to raise a Balrog for your own ends just reeks of a bad idea and unsurprisingly, Tar-Goroth straights up kills his servants upon being raised. But Zog is clever enough to not be anywhere near the action as he sends his minions to take risks like this he is unwilling to take. Using his dark magic, it was also implied that he would be able to gain control of the weakened Balrog.
* VillainousBreakdown: After Talion and Celebrimbor end his quest to [[spoiler:raise Tar Goroth as his minion]], he loses his composure altogether and just tries to outright kill them.
-->'''Zog the Eternal:''' I was about to pull life from death, ''and you ended it''! He was to be my ''masterwork'', '''and you ended it'''! This is how you ''die'', Gravewalker.
[[/folder]]

[[folder:Ratak the Lawless]]
!!Ratak the Lawless

The FinalBoss of the Legendary Gear quest, aligned to no tribe.

* BigBadWannabe: He brags that he is the "ultimate orc" because no tribe could ever contain his greatness. He aspires to rule Mordor, but is actually easier to defeat that many of the Captains whom Eltariel had to finish off to get to him.
* DualWielding: He comes armed with two giant cursed axes.
* IWorkAlone: In that he's the first Orc in the game to belong to no tribe at all. He is still Cursed class, however.
[[/folder]]

[[folder:Baz, Gaz, and Daz]]
!Baz, Gaz, and Daz

Baz and Gaz are a pair of olog-hai who identify themselves as Brûz the Chopper's Blood Brothers. [[spoiler:They ambush Talion after he has Shamed Brûz into inconsolable misery, seeking to avenge him.]] Daz is Brûz's oldest friend, and appears after the Blood Brothers have been dealt with.

----
* AllInTheManual: Much of the BackStory of Baz, Gaz and Daz can only be found in the online Appendeces.
* AndThisIsFor: [[spoiler:They'll occasionally spout lines about avenging Brûz's death in combat dialog, whether or not the player actually killed Brûz. Justified, since in their eyes, the Brûz they knew is long gone.]]
* AvengingTheVillain: They only show up after [[spoiler:Brûz has been shamed into madness]], with the explicit intent of killing Talion to avenge his fall.
* BloodKnight: According to the Appendices, "whatever scheme or stratagem Brûz devised, Baz could be found in the middle of it, blood on his hands and a smile on his face."
* ConsummateProfessional: Gaz is considered the more serious-minded soldier of the two.
* DualBoss: Baz and Gaz will likely show up to fight you at the same time.
* FantasticRacism: Gaz hates Men even more than Brûz.
* LossOfIdentity: Deranged Gaz will think he is Brûz, even trying the Australian accent.
* MadnessMantra: If Baz goes deranged he will keep repeating that Brûz is fine.
-->'''Baz (on his last chance ability):''' Better me than Brûz, he is fine, all that matters.
* RedBaron: Baz and Gaz both have the title of "the Ocker", which is Austrailian slang for agressive people. Daz has the more intimidating title of "the Ripper".
* RoaringRampageOfRevenge: The Ologs want to destroy Talion [[spoiler:for Shaming Brûz into ruin.]]
* ThisIsUnforgivable: [[spoiler:The Shaming of Brûz makes them go on a RoaringRampageOfRevenge.]]
-->'''Gaz:''' War's war; but what you did [[spoiler:to Brûz]], [[ItsPersonal you took it past all that]].
* UndyingLoyalty: To Brûz the Chopper, even after [[spoiler:he's been reduced to an insane wreck, and after all of his other followers have presumably abandoned him]].
[[/folder]]

[[folder:Tar Goroth]]

A Balrog that previously laid quiescent, until Celebrimbor's creation of the New Ring imbalanced the world enough to awaken and free him to menace the world again. [[NiceJobBreakingItHero Oops.]]
----
* AdvertisedExtra: Despite being featured heavily in the promotional material, Tar Goroth is not a major antagonist, but merely a secondary villain in the sidequests he is featured: [[spoiler: he only appears in two missions and the very start of Carnán's questlines before being disposed of, while Zog is the actual ArcVillain]].
* ArchEnemy: Of Carnán, due to the fact his fire is burning her forest.
* AttackItsWeakPoint: In the first fight, he has areas on his lower back and chest that can be damaged by arrows. However, when you catch up to him later, he has [[RemovedAchillesHeel covered those places with armor]].
* CombatPragmatist: The first encounter with him ends this way -- after taking a pounding from Carnán and Talion, he tricks them into a point where he can ambush them by giving Carnán's Graug form a headbutt and slinking off while she regenerates. In the second, it uses its own flaming trail of footprints as a trap, doubling back when it enters an ice cave and trapping Talion inside when he goes in to follow them.
* CurbStompBattle: The result of leaving Carnán's Graug form to fight him without Talion's intervention.
* EvilIsNotAToy: A Mystic Tribe Warchief by the name of Zog the Eternal is the one who provides the final push to unseal Tar-Goroth, planning to present him to Sauron in expectation of great acclaim for himself. Sadly for him, the Balrog has no interest in his schemes, and wipes out several members of his cult before engaging Talion and Carnán and then taking off to work some havoc of his own.
-->'''Celebrimbor''': They are summoning Death. But it will be Death for ''all.''
* TheJuggernaut: Talion's attacks don't affect him unless they [[AttackItsWeakPoint hit his weak point]], which Talion can't reach without Carnán's help. When he manages to separate Talion from Carnán, he's an InvincibleVillain.
* ImplacableMan: A fight with Carnán, which also had Talion [[AttackItsWeakPoint shooting at his weak point]], failed to killed him. In his second encounter with Talion and Carnán, he takes giant icicles getting dropped on his head, gets blasted with intense cold from Carnán, and gets pushed into the water of frozen lake. He's only beaten when Carnán forces him far below the water.
* ItCanThink: Tar Goroth is far from a mindless monster, and is quite adept at turning the tables. In their first encounter, Tar-Goroth ambushes Talion and Carnán as they try to climb out of his pit, ripping the head off Carnán's Graug form and forcing Talion to concentrate his efforts on staying alive, allowing Tar Goroth to make his getaway. On their second encounter, Tar Goroth leaves a trail of tracks luring Talion and Carnán into a cave, then doubles back, waits until they have taken the bait and then launches his attack, forcing the pair to run for it.
* ItsPersonal: With Carnán as she buried him back in the Second age. In fact, during his [[BlackSpeech otherwise unintelligible]] BossBanter in the first fight, you can hear him say Carnán's name if you listen carefully.
* LightningBruiser: He's bigger than a Graug, but despite that he's very, very fast.
* KnowWhenToFoldEm: He flees when he senses he can't win.
* OurDemonsAreDifferent: As far as can be seen, he's like any other Balrog, apart from the fact that his actual name is known and that he wears a skull-like helm.
* NoIndoorVoice: [[BlackSpeech While you can never understand what he's saying]], he is always shouting it at the top of his..lungs?
* PlayingWithFire: He shoots [[MacrossMissileMassacre absurd]] amounts of fireballs in his second fight and he can ignite wood just by being near it.
* Really700YearsOld: One of Morgoth's minions, some in-game dialogue hint that he was ''the very first Balrog''.
* RoarBeforeBeating: He does this frequently. He actually does this literally when he roars at Carnán, then starts repeatedly punching her in the face after charging at her.
* SealedEvilInACan: Previously slumbered deep beneath the earth, but Talion and Celebrimbor unknowingly awoke him. [[spoiler:He gets trapped once again after being defeated by Talion and Carnán, this time in a lake of ice]].
* TimeAbyss: As a Balrog, it would have served Morgoth many thousands of years ago, and technically is older than the universe.
* TheUnintelligible: Tar Goroth speaks some form of twisted and guttural BlackSpeech that appears in subtitles, but goes untranslated (unlike Ranger's lines). Talion actually asks what he is saying, but Celebrimbor replies, "Does it matter?".
* WhipItGood: Uses a flaming whip as a weapon. He also swings it around to fling {{Fireball}}s.
* WorfHadTheFlu: Celebrimbor thinks that Zog can enthrall him after [[spoiler: being frozen in the lake by Carnán.]] Before, Celebrimbor said that waking him up would cause death to all, and Tar Goroth kills his acolytes the moment he wakes up.
[[/folder]]

[[folder:Takra the Sandspider]]
!Takra the Sandspider
The main antagonist of ''The Desolation of Mordor'' DLC, Takra the Sandspider rules Lithlad from the fortress of Shindrâm and has hired the Vanishing Sons Mercenary Company to guard his treasure caravans against bandit raids.
* AnArmAndALeg: Baranor detonates a barrel of grog next to him, and it blows his hand off.
* DisproportionateRetribution: When Baranor enters Takra's throne room, he snarls that he'll tear off all of Baranor's limbs as payback for Baranor blowing his arm off earlier. [[TheGadfly Serka]] promptly [[LampshadeHanging lampshades]] it.
* FinalBoss: As soon as he is dead, the DLC finishes and calculates your score.
* TeethClenchedTeamwork: Takra hired the Vanishing Sons to guard his treasure caravans, although neither side (including Takra himself) particularly likes the arrangement.
* WeaksauceWeakness: He is Dazed by Executions, probably so his fight wouldn't be too difficult to [[AntiFrustrationFeatures avoid player frustration]].
[[/folder]]

!! Antagonists - Nemesis orcs

[[folder:Nemesis Orcs]]
!!Nemesis Orcs
->Voiced by: Creator/JBBlanc, Creator/BrianBloom, Creator/SteveBlum, Creator/DarinDePaul, Creator/MichaelGough, Creator/NeilKaplan, Eric Lopez, Creator/MatthewMercer, Creator/NolanNorth, Creator/DwightSchultz, Creator/FredTatasciore and Creator/TravisWillingham

The officers of Orc society, from Captains all the way to Warchiefs. Aside from names and fancy titles, these orcs have a number of strengths that make them much, much more dangerous than your rank and file grunts. However, they also have weaknesses you can exploit to great effect.
----
* AccidentalTruth: Some of their taunts indicate that either they know about Talion's bond with the wraith or took a wild guess:
-->"Back from the dead, eh? Did you learn that from your elven friend?"\\
''(After Talion is killed)'' "In a hole! In the ground! Both of you!"
* {{Acrofatic}}: A pudgy Uruk can still have the "fast runner" trait.
* AffablyEvil: Some Captains will run after and kill runaway slaves, and just as quickly turn around and give you a genuinely pleasant greeting before attacking.
* TheAlcoholic: You might stumble across a captain who ''really'' loves his grog.
* TheAnticipator: some Uruks will be vigilant against stealth making them immune to all Stealth attacks.
* AscendedExtra: Should Talion be killed by just another nameless Uruk, then that Uruk will get a promotion to Captain, complete with a unique name, personality and traits. Given the right sequence of events, the Uruk who happened to get in the last lucky blow against the Gravewalker can end up becoming an elite Warchief or even the Overlord.
* AuthorityEqualsAsskicking: Their combat level measures both their personal skill and the amount of sway they have over other Uruks.
* AxCrazy: Some Uruks are motivated by nothing more than a lust for violence and bloodshed.
* BerserkButton: A trait for Uruks is a hatred of something specific (Caragors, burning, their masters getting hurt, etc.) that, when triggered, causes them to be become stronger in battle.
* BloodKnight: Olog-hai's with the title "Warborn" will do PunctuatedPounding, saying "I LIKE IT!" each time.
* BloodUpgrade: Present via the Hate of Pain and Hate of Mortal Wounds traits, which will send a Captain into a frenzy when they take certain amounts of damage.
* BodyHorror:
** In ''Shadow of Mordor'', Uruks can come in two flavors of grotesque. Either they're just naturally covered in tumors, growths, mutations or scars... or they collect new ones as Talion kills/defeats them and it doesn't quite take. Do enough damage to one enough times and he'll be almost unrecognizable from the first time you met.
** In ''Shadow of War'', we can add "born with two malformed faces" and "host to a morgai fly hive" to the list.
* BossInMookClothing: Inverted with certain Uruks. Some early-game Captains are so vulnerable and/or easily shaken that there's not much separating them from the grunts other than a few special abilities.
** And then others play it straight by going in the opposite direction. The right combination of traits can easily create a Captain that is much harder than the others on the roster.
* ButtMonkey: An Uruk who gets killed by Talion repeatedly will usually come back with horrific wounds, referring to how much pain they have to constantly suffer through. An Uruk who has been killed multiple times ''and'' has an easily-exploitable fear on top of that? They suddenly become an utter joke.
* CameBackStrong: Any Uruk that undergoes an UnexplainedRecovery comes back with a few extra levels in power, meaning they're (theoretically) stronger than before. Uruks who are Shamed into becoming Maniacs will leap beyond level 60, regardless of their level.
* CameBackWrong: In Shadow of War, Uruk brought back by Necromancers have the 'Undead' tag instead of a Tribe tag, are pallid, black-haired and green-eyed, and have their dialog replaced by gibbering moans or mutism.
** [[spoiler: Talion can get the ability to do this himself in Act IV. In addition to the aforementioned cosmetic changes, undead orcs can no longer level up, and gain a weakness to fire. On the plus side, they can't be poisoned and can never betray you.]]
** This can also happen in some of the ways that Uruks cheat death, frequently in different flavors of BodyHorror. For instance, an Uruk that was severely mutilated by Talion, such as losing most of their limbs, can return with the "Machine" tag, becoming the closest thing the setting has to a HollywoodCyborg, while another is the "Poisoned" or "Blighted" tag. An Uruk you kill with poison has a chance to come back covered in leaking sores and boils, [[FacialHorror with half of their face melted]].
* CaptainObvious: Quite literally -- one Orc Captain is labeled "[[https://youtu.be/thQzR7bgvg0 The Obvious]]".
* CastOfSnowflakes: All Uruks are randomly generated with different looks, personalities and traits.
* TheCatCameBack: Some of these captains can have skills called Tracker, Sneaky, and Ambusher. Any combination of these traits makes a captain who will appear out of nowhere, no matter the time or the place, and will never stop chasing you. Teleport to the other side of the map? They're already there. Hide on top of a tower? They're waiting for you to come down. Bonus points if the captain gets the Unkillable title and takes a lot of effort to kill permanently.
* {{Cloudcuckoolander}}: While some Uruks are AxCrazy, others are just... nuts, exclaiming things like "beetles don't like peoples" or referring to Talion as "Buttons!"
** Minstrel Uruks are ExactlyWhatItSaysOnTheTin, coming into battle with [[ImprovisedWeapon weaponized lutes]] and singing in verse to describe your doom. They are no less powerful than any other Uruk captain despite their silly nature, and can kill Talion just as dead as any other Uruk.
* CombatSadomasochist: There are Uruks who speak in perverted innuendos, talk to Talion like they're planning to have their way with him afterwards, treat their wounds like a result of a lovers' spat, and introduce themselves while posing in suggestive flourishes. It's exactly as ''disturbing'' and '''wrong''' as you think it is.
* CoolHelmet: Many Uruks sport an array of headwear, ranging from ornate metal helmets to [[NemeanSkinning caragoar heads]] to [[CoolMask ninja-like masks]] to small head-mounted braziers.
* CursedWithAwesome: In ''Shadow of War'', some Uruks may break out of Domination, at which point Sauron gives them a Dark Curse that is anything but; it's not only complete immunization to further MindControl, it allows them to temporarily disable Talion's wraith powers on contact.
* DeathSeeker: Some Captains are relieved when Talion slays them. This happens chiefly with old Uruks.
* DecapitationRequired: The only reliable way to avert an UnexplainedRecovery is to lop the Uruk's head off. Subverted in ''Shadow of War'', they can come back as Frankensteins ''with their heads stitched back on'', or as undead.
* DefiantToTheEnd: Certain Uruks will express an ICanStillFight mentality when they reach the prone "brand or kill" stage. The "Death Defying" trait in ''Shadow of War'' goes even further by allowing an uruk to immediately snap out of that cusp-of-death state and keep fighting with some extra health.
* DegradedBoss: Warchiefs in the second game (both in plot and gameplay). With the introduction of the overlords, Uruk Warchiefs were demoted to mini-bosses.
* DirtyCoward: Uruks with titles like "The Coward", "The Fearful", "Who Flees", etc. have numerous fears and will retreat at the drop of a hat.
* DudeWheresMyRespect: An Uruk Captain may mutter after killing Talion, "There. Maybe now my Uruks will do what I tell them to."
* EliteMook: Begin as these, may eventually be promoted into a BossInMookClothing or a true BossBattle as a Warchief or Overlord.
* EvenEvilHasStandards: Once you defeat The Tower, one of the Uruk's idle dialogue is about how much of a cruel bastard he was and that they're glad he's dead. [[SubvertedTrope Although, they could just be talking about how cruel he was to]] [[MoralMyopia THEM, and not care about his cruelty to others.]]
* EvilKnockoff: ''Shadow of War'' has Orcs who fashion themselves "The Tower" and wear armor just like The Tower from the first game.
* FaceDeathWithDignity: A ''very'' small number of Captains and Warchiefs will take their defeat this way, one of them even ''thanking you'' for granting him "a good death".
-->'''Uruk''' : "Didn't see this coming. No matter. Just finish it." \\
'''Uruk''' : "Good brawl in front of a cheering crowd? Can't think of a better way to go."\\
'''Uruk:''' A noble death, fighting for the Dark Lord. Thank you, Ranger.
* FacialHorror: Orcs Talion has killed might come back wearing a sack or metal plating to cover this... but others dont. Captains who return from poisoning in ''War'' can have molten faces.
* AFatherToHisMen: Some Uruks can somewhat be seen as this, especially those who become enraged if their bodyguards are attacked when they take the field. Though it could be down to their BlueAndOrangeMorality
* FlamingSword: And other weapons as well. Some Uruks wield armaments that are on fire, which increases the damage they do.
* FriendlyEnemy: The occasional Uruk Captain will say how happy they are to see you, give you compliments or invite you to join in on the hunt/party you found them in. [[GameplayAndStorySegregation Doesn't stop them from attacking you though.]]
* FromNobodyToNightmare: Can potentially happen if a rank and file orc gets a lucky kill on Talion to become a captain, and survives long enough to get promoted to be a Warchief or even the Overlord of his native region.
* GenuineHumanHide: Captains known as "The Skinner" and "The Tailor" make it very clear that they want to turn Talion's skin into clothing.
* HairTriggerTemper: Some Uruks have the trait "Hates Everything", which means they'll go into a frenzy at the slightest provocation.
* HalfTheManHeUsedToBe: A cleaved orc can still comeback with his lower half being stapled.
* HeelFaceBrainwashing: Later on in the game, The Wraith gains the ability to brand orcs, turning them and all those who follow them to his side.
* HeroKiller: In ''Shadow of War'', rank-and-file Uruks who manage to kill Talion will sometimes declare themselves "Tark-Slayer" and gain that as their sobriquet.
** Also, the Ranger-Killer, as some Uruk will style themselves as. To back it up, they have a Ranger sword as their weapon.
* HulkSpeak: Some orcs talk like this, and it's much more common among Olog-Hai.
* ILoveTheDead: some orcs mentions in their duel that they'll keep the enemies corpse for play time.
* InstrumentOfMurder: In ''Shadow of War'', Uruks bards and minstrals will wield lutes with axe-blades attached as weapons.
* KingMook: Each class of Uruk promoted to the nemesis lineup keeps their associated equipment. Combine this with the '[[FlunkyBoss Gang Leader]]' trait, and you can end up with a Berserker Captain surrounded by a squad of regular Berserkers.
* TheKlutz: Uruks with the "clumsy" trait can be grabbed without needing to be weakened first.
* LaughingMad: Some Uruk have no dialogue but a creepy laugh, even when at Talion's mercy.
* LegacyCharacter: One of the Uruks in ''Shadow of War'' is "The Tower". An orc who put on The Tower's armor after Talion killed him, and now fancies himself as the Tower.
* MadeOfIron: There are Uruks who can take a lot of punishment.
* MadnessMantra: Deranged Uruks will suffer a CoolAndUnusualPunishment in which they forsake their former desires. Famously with [[spoiler:Bruz]], who will constantly moan, "I don't want the fort! It's his/your fort! It was always his/your fort!"
-->'''The Glutton:''' So full! No more eating! So stuffed... SO STUFFED!\\
'''The Glutton:''' Cannot eat! So full. Stomach HURTS. SO FULL!\\
'''The Glutton:''' ''(after killing Talion)'' Would eat you, but so full... so stuffed... so full...
* TheMagnificent: Every Uruk ranked captain and above has some form of sobriquet. Most pertain to a specific trait, but a few are based on profession or accomplishment.
* MilesGloriosus: Gorath from the "Spirit of Mordor" mission. When you find him, he's constantly bragging about how badass he is when hunting caraugars... He's actually terrified by them, and the mission requires to release the caged caraugars in the surrounding area before attacking him while he's fleeing.
* MonstrousCannibalism: You may come across an Uruk with rather... grotesque tastes in food.
* MookPromotion: Sometimes, a random grunt can become a captain, either by killing Talion or just through random events.
* MoreTeethThanTheOsmondFamily: Some Orcs lack lips and/or cheeks, giving them unnaturally-wide fang-studded mouths.
* MyGodWhatHaveIDone: If you make an orc kill their blood brother in a duel, they will immediately turn on you afterwards.
* ThatManIsDead: A Captain who has been Shamed (and possibly killed) by Talion may return as "the Nameless One", giving a WhatTheHellPlayer, saying he's fighting for all of the other Captains Talion has Shamed. [[ImmediateSelfContradiction The Captain will still keep his proper name, though.]]
* NamesTheSame: In ''War'', an orc can have the moniker of [[NamesTheSame Gravewalker]], his motivation for killing Talion amount to ClearMyName.
* NeckLift: Uruks with the "throat grab" ability can do this.
* NemeanSkinning: The head of a caragor is the helmet of choice for certain Uruks.
* TheNoseKnows: A skill for Nemesis uruks is Sniffer, which works almost like Tracker in that uruks use it to track Talion down. The difference is that captains with Sniffer can only notice Talion when he's somewhat near them, no matter if he's standing on a building or hiding in a bush.
* NoSell: Different Uruks have different invulnerabilities. Three common ones are invulnerability to ranged combat (rendering any bow-related attacks useless), invulnerability to stealth takedowns (rendering a stealthy approach with the dagger useless), and Combat Master (rendering combat finishers useless).
* NotWorthKilling: The Humiliator won't kill Talion, and just walk away. One would think it would be a relief for players, but oddly, it usually ''pisses them off''. So, job well done, Humiliator.
* OldSoldier: One of the personalities these greenskins can have is that of the grizzled old veteran. They usually have a title like "the Wise" or "the Old", and call Talion a "young man", often stating that the Ranger has nothing left to teach them as the years have taught them war.
* OurZombiesAreDifferent: [[spoiler:The final Zog mission will have him resurrecting all of the Captains Talion killed into zombie-like soldiers. They will have their old traits, but aren't able to speak, gargling incoherently. They also cannot be recruited or shamed.]]
* PardonMyKlingon: Some Uruks liberally use the term "shrakh", which appears to be their word for "shit". One particular pre-duel quote functions as a ClusterFBomb for this reason:
-->"Eat shrakh and die, you shrakh-eating shrakh!"
* PoisonedWeapons: Some Uruks carry poisoned weapons that disable the button prompt for Talion to counter incoming hits and drain his health.
* RelativeButton: Some Uruks like to point out that Ioreth and Dirhael will stay dead no matter what Talion does.
* {{Revenge}}:
** If an Uruk comes back after being killed by Talion, he might try to avenge his own death by killing the ranger.
** In ''Shadow of War'', Orcs can have BloodBrothers who will come after you if you take one of them down.
* TheSilentBob:
** Some Uruks are TheQuietOne, only vocalizing maybe a few grows, snorts, or giggles instead of words. Yet they seem to be understood well enough when communicating with other Uruks, for example during a recruitment event:
--->'''Nemesis:''' "..."
--->'''Random Uruk:''' "I'd rather die!"
** In ''Shadow of War'', some Orcs will call out to Talion only to silently glare at him and have a random background Orc speak on their behalf.
* ScarilyCompetentTracker: Those with the Tracker trait, naturally, will be able to follow your trail until they find you. They can keep tracking you even if you leave the ground and go over a building[[note]]They're tracking the white line that Talion leaves behind him, seen on the mini map[[/note]]. They'll even boast that they've been following the Ranger's trail all over Mordor when they find him.
* ScrewThisImOuttaHere: Some Uruks will attempt to retreat when they find themselves outmatched. If you exploit a 'Fear' weakness, they'll start running for the hills in a blind panic.
* SkeletonsInTheCoatCloset: Some Uruks adorn themselves in the bones of animals, ranging from a ribcage cuirass to using a goat-like skull as a helmet.
* SingleIssueWonk: Ologs with the title "Dwarf-Hater" will ''only speak'' about how much they despise Dwarves. They hate Talion because he's friends with a Dwarf. They compare his fighting to a Dwarf's. ''Every one of their lines'' brings up Dwarves. Talion hits them? He hits like a dwarf. He dodges? He's a coward like a dwarf, etc. They often drop this habit after being branded, however.
* SmarterThanYouLook: Ologs might look more monstrous than their Uruk allies, but they're no less intelligent. For example, you might run into an Olog Captain titled "the Bore" who drones on about his and Talion's motives for fighting and compares them to those of other soldiers throughout history.
** There's even a [[EnemyChatter conversation between mooks]] where an Uruk laments that the Ologs aren't any dumber despite being huger and stronger than Uruks.
* SmokeOut: Trickster class orcs in the sequel can use smoke bombs to teleport around the battlefield.
* SophisticatedAsHell: As [[WebAnimation/ZeroPunctuation Yahtzee]] pointed out, Orcs and Ologs seem to have quite the education, since they throw around terms like "metaphor" around while making grisly threats.
* SpeakOfTheDevil: In ''War'', sometimes Talion's actions will attract a related Captain. For example, slice off the limbs of a Captain when killing him, an Uruk named "The Mutilator" will pop up to critique Talion's work before attacking. Explode a campfire to cause spiders to erupt from it, and a Captain named "The Spider" will be upset at you for defiling Shelob before attacking.
* SpikesOfVillainy: Rather common attire for captains, especially higher-ranking ones.
* SuddenlyVoiced: In the last mission of the game, your nemesis shows up guarding the gate in a last-ditch effort to stop you. He gives a speech to his warriors and attacks. Yes, this even applies to the aforementioned mute captains.
-->'''Nemesis:''' " Burn... Maim! Kill them all!"
* TeleportingKeycardSquad: Captains with the Ambusher trait love to appear apropos of nothing the second you finish doing something else, no matter how mundane it is.
* TerseTalker: Uruks with the epithet "One-Word" generally [[ExactlyWhatItSaysOnTheTin only say one word at a time]].
* ThrowTheMookAtThem: Ologs can pull this off, snatching up a hapless uruk to chuck at Talion as a crude ranged attack.
* TinTyrant: A common form of attire for Uruk warchiefs is intimidating armor.
* TookALevelInBadass: Orcs that return from the dead are usually a bit more powerful. Exploiting their fears in ''War'' has a chance of improving them, as shamed orcs might take the punishment in pride and captains who ran away from Morgai flies can turn into a walking hive.
* TurnsRed: Invoked by any Nemesis with the "Hate of Defeat" strength, they will become enraged on low health.
* UnexplainedRecovery: Some Uruk captains can come back after being apparently killed, albeit with some form of wounds. If it happens to the same uruk more than once, their bio changes to how they fear that they have become cursed by Talion. A JustifiedTrope, as the canon shows that Uruk medicine is ''very'' good, albeit also HarmfulHealing.
* UnfortunateNames: There are Uruks named "Dûsh" and "Kâka." To a lesser extent, "Barfa"[[note]]as it's pronounced "bar-fa" rather than "barf-a"[[/note]], "Bagga" and names that have "dûsh" as a syllable (like "Feldûsh", "Azdûsh", and "Dûshrat"). One of the many [[TheMagnificent titles]] that an Uruk can get is "Bag-Head", which can result in a Captain being named [[EmbarrassingNickname Dûsh Bag-Head]]. ''Shadow of War'' also adds "Shag" and "Fûbar" to the list of names.
* TheUnfought: Because Uruk society is so volatile, in addition to Mordor's violent wildlife, it's not uncommon for a captain you've never met or never had a chance to fight to be killed by a third party.
* TheUnintelligible: Some Uruks "speak" in little more than growls and snarls, but [[IntelligibleUnintelligible other Uruks seem to understand them just fine]]. Shamed Uruks can lose their ability to speak when they go deranged.
* VillainousBreakdown: Uruk Nemeses who are Shamed in ''Shadow of War'' have a chance of becoming Deranged as a side-effect. This ranges from being driven mad to ending up outright lobotomized. Deranged Uruks and Ologs immediately counter the loss in Power Level from Shaming by [[PowerBornOfMadness instantly gaining a whole new swath of combat bonuses]] [[PowerOfHate and rage triggers.]] It's also possible to have them go Maniac instead, which boost their level instead. Averted in the case of a few Uruks who become Unashamed, wielding and boosting about their shaming as a mark of pride and taunt Tailon about it.
* VillainousCrush: Unfortunately, this is actually an attitude some captains can have in regards to Talion. It's a messed-up ball of [[InterplayOfSexAndViolence lust and maybe love]], where the Uruk seesaws between all but stating they'll be taking their prize from Talion's (currently) dead body, to nearly romantic last requests before they die. Uruk romance is very dysfunctional. In Shadow of War, Orcs with "the Obssessed" takes it a step further as their first line if they kill you is how lovely your corpse is.
* VillainousGlutton: There are captains who really love their food. They might complain about being hungry, wonder about their next meal, or even consider eating Talion after killing him.
* TheVoiceless: Some Uruks don't actually speak and instead communicate with chomps, grunts, and shrieks.
* WhatTheHellHero: Rarely, you can run into a Captain who states they're trying to protect their fellow Uruks from the Gravewalker, or calling Talion out for being a butcher with their dying breath.
** One humorous example will occur [[spoiler:after Sauron and Celebrimbor have been fused]], with the occasional Uruk complaining to Talion it's all ''his'' fault there's a gigantic eye staring down on Mordor and invading everyone's privacy.
* WorthyOpponent: Some Uruks will tell Talion what a worthy opponent he is at the beginning or at the end of a fight. Best exemplified with these 3 possible quotes your Nemesis will give you in the Arena fight.
-->'''Nemesis''' : "We've been at this for a long time, you and I, going all the way back to Udun. And in all that time I've realised two things. A Man like you deserve a proper challenge. And what you don't deserve is a quick death."
-->'''Nemesis''' : "Here we are again. Last time we mixed it up was a good while back, and a long way from here. But this is the place you've chosen to meet your end. And me? I respect that."
-->'''Nemesis''' : "Been a long time, Ranger. Last time I bloodied you was back in Udun, yeah? Well, this seems as good a place as any to end you good and proper. Come on, let's give the crowd a good show!"
* WhyDidItHaveToBeSnakes: Some Uruks might also have a specific crippling fear, such as fire or certain animals, that will cause them to run for it and be vulnerable to grabs when triggered.
* WhyWontYouDie: A captain who manages to kill Talion repeatedly will actually start getting annoyed at the Ranger coming back. It can get to the point where they complain at having to put down an unkillable wraith every day.
[[/folder]]

[[folder:The Tribes]]
!!The Tribes
Introduced in ''VideoGame/MiddleEarthShadowOfWar'', uruk and olog society is divided into a number of tribes unified under the rule of Sauron the Dark Lord. Each tribe possesses its own customs, regalia and behavior, and the native tribe of an uruk officer can drastically affect his strengths, weaknesses and abilities.
----
* AnimalMotif: About half of the Feral tribe are either named after some kind of beast, or wear armor styled after or made of a beast. Examples include Orcs and Ologs with titles like "The Dragon", "Of The Beasts", "Caragor-Fang", or "The Rat Lord".
** Some Mystic Tribe Uruks have a bird theme to their names and attire, with epithets such as [[RavensAndCrows "The Raven" or "The Crow"]] or [[FeatheredFiend "Hell-Hawk"]], armor that includes a helm with an extended, tapering visor that comes to a beak-like point over the nose, and a collar covered in black and dark red feathers.
* AxCrazy: The Slaughter Tribe is basically the SerialKiller tribe, with a blood-and-entrails motif to their Forts.
* BadassCreed:
-->'''Terror Tribe:''' This fort is [[DeadGuyOnDisplay a monument]] to the enemies of Sauron!\\
'''Machine Tribe:''' You aren't the enemy! You're '''grist'''... for the '''''Machine'''''!\\
'''Marauder Tribe:''' Grog. Guts. Glory.\\
'''Dark Tribe:''' [[Film/ArmyOfDarkness We will swallow your souls!]]\\
'''Feral Tribe:''' Tear down our banners if you ''can''! [[DecapitationPresentation We will replace them with your]] ''[[DecapitationPresentation head]]''!\\
'''Mystic Tribe:''' ''[[ContinuityNod Ash nazg durbatulûk, ash nazg gimbatul...]]''\\
'''Warmonger Tribe:''' We bring Fury. We bring Doom. [[PunctuatedForEmphasis We. Bring. War]].\\
'''Slaughter Tribe:''' Tenderize the '''''meat'''''![[note]]Slice. Dice. Feast.[[/note]]\\
'''Outlaw Tribe:''' Mordor belongs to the '''Outlaw'''!
* BlingOfWar: The Marauder Tribe, of course. Their promotional trailer even parodies rap videos.
* BloodIsTheNewBlack: The Slaughter Tribe warriors have blood smeared all over their bodies.
* BrightIsNotGood: The Marauder Tribe is fond of ornate gold decorations, with pristine fortresses of white stone and even more gold under sunny blue skies. Needless to say, they're still [[AlwaysChaoticEvil uruks]], and WordOfGod says all of their swag comes from invading other lands.
* CloudCuckooLander: A good chunk of the mystic Tribe are just raving lunatic.
* DeadGuyOnDisplay: Terror Tribe fortresses prominently feature the corpses of [[OurTrollsAreDifferent graugs]] strung up over the gates and towers.
* DecapitationPresentation: Slaughter Tribe Overlords decorate their forts by cutting off the heads of the Ologs, Caragors, and Graugs they butcher and tying or skewering them onto the sides of their towers and walls.
* TheExile: The Outlaw Tribe have been effectively shunned by the other Tribes.
* FantasticRacism: The Outlaw Tribe is effectively the Mordor equivalent of a US militia group.
* TheFriendNobodyLikes: The two DownloadableContent tribes, the Slaughter and Outlaw tribes, are implied to be this. Upon instillation, several missions will appear that show orcs in the region rallying together to fight off a group of Slaughter/Outlaw captains. Considering the Slaughter Tribe's status as [[SerialKiller Serial Killers]], and the Outlaws' FantasticRacism, it's not too hard to believe.
* ImAHumanitarian: The Slaughter Tribe are turning out not only to be man-eaters, but cannibals. Whether you are Man, Dwarf, or even Orc, enemy meat is meat to them.
* IndustrializedEvil: A Machine Tribe Overlord peppers his territory with smokestacks and furnaces, and Machine fortresses are full of pipes, grates and other industrial decorations.
* MalevolentMaskedMen: A few tribes have some intimidating helmet designs as part of their standard equipment.
** The Mystics are fond of skull-like masks.
** The Outlaws have full head helmets made from fossilized bone and rusty metal.
** Some Slaughter Tribe captains have masks made from their victims flesh.
* NationalWeapon: {{Downplayed}}. Each Tribe has an associated sidearm that every Nemesis Officer (except Ologs) carries on their belts that they can use as a special attack/execution option in some circumstances.
** AutomaticCrossbows; Marauder Captains have a [[GunsAkimbo pair of repeating hand-crossbows]] for a rapid-fire mid-ranged attack.
** ChainPain; Terror Captains have dual bladed-chains they swing like whips.
** DualWielding; Dark Captains have a pair of black-dyed, deeply curved daggers, while Slaughter Captains wield a pair of intimidating meat cleavers.
** GrapplingHookPistol; Machine Captains have a throwable hook on a chain, which they'll use [[YouWillNotEvadeMe to grab Talion and pull him close]].
** EpicFlail: Outlaw Captains uses bolos with flail heads to ensnare their enemies.
** KnifeNut; Mystic Captains have large, intricately patterned sacrificial dirks, which have an enchantment that lets them [[FlashStep blink up to opponents]].
** Similarly Slaughter Captains are armed with Meat cleavers that they will quickly hurl at their enemies to deal bleeding damage.
** TrickedOutGloves; Warmonger Captains have special spiked vambraces that can [[GrappleMove catch and trap Talion's sword strikes.]]
** WolverineClaws; Feral Captains have retractable wrist-blades.
* {{Necromancer}}: While Captains of all tribes are capable of performing necromancy, the Mystic tribe specializes in it. Mystic Fortresses typically have several necromancy totems scattered around, raising dead orcs to fight again.
* NightmarishFactory: The trappings of a fort controlled by the Machine Tribe.
* ProudWarriorRaceGuy: The Warmonger Tribe, according to WordOfGod. They were designed with Samurai and Vikings in mind. They're less into grog and more into weaponry and tactics.
* SkeletonsInTheCoatCloset: The Mystic Tribe wear armor and masks evocative of bones and skulls, and a Mystic Overlord's territory and fortress is covered in chilling skeletal idols.
** The Feral Tribe and some Beastmasters also get in on this, with the dirtied, and in some cases partially-fossilized, remains of the quarry being outfitted by them as armor.
** Outlaw tribe armor is typically made of half fossilized bone and half metal scraps.
* TortureTechnician: The Terror Tribe's schtick.
* UndyingLoyalty: Though all Orcs are first and foremost followers of Sauron, the members of the Dark Tribe are described as some of his most fanatical followers, constructing statues to the Dark Lord in their fortresses, and most Orcs in the tribe have the trait Iron Will, which allows them to resist being branded.
[[/folder]]

[[folder:Orc classes]]
In addition to the tribes, orcs in ''Shadow Of War'' always belong to a specific class, which determines their skills.
----
* AnimalMotif: Almost all Beastmaster orcs have a title based on the animals they summon or care for, like "The Dragon" or "Of The Spiders".
* FlunkyBoss: Commanders specialize in this. They are surrounded by mooks, and those mooks can plant a flag that boosts everyone's attack speed and power when it's nearby. They also tend to summon replacement mooks using a horn, an ability shared with Trackers
* GetBackHereBoss: Tricksters, who dodge Talion's attacks like assassins, have a chance of escaping a QuickTimeEvent execution, and drop bombs while fleeing. Sometimes, if you follow a retreating trickster long enough, they might taunt Talion before disappearing with the help of a smoke bomb.
* HairTriggerTemper: Berserker orcs tend to have a long list of hate triggers. Especially if they are scrawny.
* LuckilyMyShieldWillProtectMe: Tanks usually carry a large shield that blocks frontal assaults.
* MadeOfIron: Tanks take a lot of punishment, and can get up and keep fighting after their health is depleted once.
* MultiMeleeMaster: Slayers are better at melee than other orcs. For example, they can perform small combos and adapt to Talion's moves faster than others.
* NoSell: Beastmasters are almost always immune to attacks from animals, and typically deal double damage to them in return.
* OneHitKill: A variation. Assassins frequently possess the No Chance skill, which means they can immediately kill Talion the moment he's been downed, with no opportunity for a recovery unless something interrupts the Assassin (getting locked in another animation, or an allied captain swooping in for a BigDamnHeroes moment).
* ScarilyCompetentTracker: Trackers will detect Talion from a distance and rapidly zero in on his location, even if he's high above ground, in an unreachable spot or hidden in a bush. They also have a high chance of ambushing Talion, and can even follow him between zones to do this (often while complaining about how far they had to travel just to have a showdown).
* StuffBlowingUp: Destroyers pack tons of explosive charges to throw around, and frequently have the Final Blast trait that causes them to scatter a ton of bombs upon death. Marksmen, meanwhile, can gain the Explosive Shot trait that allows them to fire exploding arrows.
* TeleportSpam: Well, ''dodge'' spam. Trickster and Assassin captains can dodge your basic melee attacks, and they are good at it. Tricksters can also pull a SmokeOut to teleport away from Talion.
[[/folder]]

!!Other

[[folder:Ioreth and Dirhael]]
!! Ioreth and Dirhael
->Voiced by: Creator/LauraBailey (Ioreth) and Jack Quaid (Dirhael)

Talion's family, his wife and his son, respectively. Living a peaceful life in the Black Gates, Ioreth had joined her lover in his exile, his son had been training to become a ranger and continue his father's legacy. The former had expressed many, many times an interest in leaving the Black Gates, a wish that unwittingly, tragically becomes true on the night of Sauron's return.
----
* BadassFamily: Dirhael, despite his youth, slays many Uruks before his capture by the Black Captains, and Ioreth bravely faces death and assures Talion this is not the end.
* HumanSacrifice: Used as such to summon the Wraith.
* NoodleIncident: Audio during the loading screens indicate that in their youth [[spoiler: Talion killed a Gondorian nobleman who assaulted Ioreth. The penalty for that was death, but when Ioreth told her father Hallas she was pregnant with Dirhael and threatened to claim she killed the nobleman in self-defense, her father pulled strings to get Talion transferred to the Black Gate instead]].
* SacrificialLamb: Killed off at the beginning of the story as a HumanSacrifice.
* TogetherInDeath: Ioreth tearfully assures Talion that they'll be together forever after the Black Hand kills them. Sadly, it was not to be... at least, [[spoiler:not for much, ''much'' longer than anyone expected]].
* TragicKeepsake: Acharn, Talion's "dagger", is the broken hilt of Dirhael's sword, recovered immediately after Talion initially revives.

[[/folder]]

[[folder:Eryn]]
!!Eryn
->Voiced by: Emily O'Brien

The peacekeeper of the Outcasts, tribes of men and women who chose not to live in the Black Gates. Technically the daughter of the jailer, her peaceful demeanour and beautiful singing voice had calmed more trouble and defused more terse situations than the guards ever could.
----
* HappilyMarried: To Hirgon.
* MadeASlave: Talion helps Hirgon to rescue her from uruk custody.

[[/folder]]

[[folder:Saruman]]
!!Saruman
->Voiced by: Roger L. Jackson

Leader of the Istari, Saruman has a presence that echoes even into Mordor.
----
* MeatPuppet: He uses [[spoiler:Queen Marwen as one in the same manner he later used King Theoden in the ''Lord of the Rings'' [[Film/LordOfTheRings films]].]]
* TheSpymaster: Heavily implied to be this in the artifacts that reveal [[spoiler:insider information about Sauron's movements within Mordor.]] In the sequel you can find captains named "the White" who comments that there is another tower rising and implying that they are TheMole in Sauron's army.
* TheVoice: Aside from dialogue, he doesn't make a physical appearance in the story.
* VillainOfAnotherStory: [[spoiler:His corruption is implied to have already taken place and he is plotting to overthrow Sauron by the time of the series. Having said that, he only "shows up" through Marwen in one scene to try to bind Celebrimbor's spirit to him and several Uruks in his service (mostly marked the "White Hand" title, but can happen to others) appear in the second game, presumably to infiltrate Sauron's army]].
* WeCanRuleTogether: [[spoiler: Offers this to Celebrimbor, insisting that together they can overthrow Sauron and claim Mordor for themselves]].
[[/folder]]

[[folder:The Blue Istari]]
!!The Blue Istari

Two of the five Istari, the blue wizards travelled east long ago and have not been seen since.
----
* FaceDeathWithDignity: If the two are indeed dead, it seems they foresaw their doom and took it in stride, counting the days and leaving behind items that they would no longer have use for.
* TheGhost: Mentioned in the memories of various artifacts (and conversations therein), but never actually seen in-game, save for an azurite figurine representation.
* NoNameGiven: At the rate that people forget their names, it's implied that they deliberately wipe it from peoples' minds.
* ThoseTwoGuys: Everybody would forget their names and either refer to them as "the Istari" or "the big one and the little one."
* UncertainDoom: Many artifacts suggests that the Istari were ultimately killed, but it isn't conclusively revealed.

[[/folder]]

[[folder:Morgoth]]
!!Morgoth

Defeated in ancient days, he was the first Dark Lord and Sauron's master.
----
* GodOfEvil: An idol depicting him is a collectible artifact. He's more of a SatanicArchetype, but he's depicted as a god. Though, being one of the Valar -- the equivalent of gods, though weaker than Eru Ilúvatar, in Tolkien lore -- this fits quite well.
* GreaterScopeVillain: The very first Dark Lord and Sauron's master back in the day.
* PredecessorVillain: Long gone by the time of the game.
* ReligionOfEvil: The subject of one at any rate. Sauron influenced Ar-Pharazon's mind to institute the worship of Morgoth as Númenor's state religion, a fact very much resented by a woman who narrates the idol's memory found by the players.

[[/folder]]

* AdaptationDeviation: Other than the changes to the timeline, he is the subject to a smaller change as well. In the original lore, his name came from his skills in unarmed combat, as the sheer power of his punches was comparable to being hit by a hammer. Here he uses an actual hammer.

* ContractualBossImmunity: The Hammer cannot be vaulted or stunned, and immediately counterattacks with a telekinetic shove if you throw a throwing dagger at him. He's still vulnerable to regular attacks, counters, and being shot in the head, but since his health is so high (he's got twice as much health as an Orc Captain) you're pretty much expected to kill him with combat finishers.

* PromotedToPlayable: The Bright Lord DLC allows you to play as him when he was still alive, [[spoiler:and is set after he stole the one Ring.]] He is also playable in some flashbacks in ''War'', and [[spoiler: is the playable character during the final fight against Sauron]].

* WhyDidItHaveToBeSnakes: Torvin has something approaching love for Caragors, and even bears great respect for Graugs. He respects and is in awe of all creatures of nature, even those of Mordor... except Ghuls. He can't ''stand'' Ghuls. When he speaks of them, he makes it clear that even the thought of the crawling creatures makes him want to scrub the inside of his skin. [[spoiler:He's very hesitant - and later nauseated - when he comes up with the idea of having Talion control them.]]

* HasAType: Several artifacts have her almost gushing about her fantasy of being courted by a dashing Corsair, and she seems to have a much higher opinion of Haradrim than Orcs.

* BerserkButton: Undead, hence his name. He witnessed his brother's death, and once the latter returned as a revenant, he performed a MercyKill on him. From that point onwards, he dedicated himself on killing any and all undead orcs he can find, which eventually led him to Talion. Sure enough, he has the "Enraged by undead" trait in gameplay.

* HeelFaceBrainwashing: [[AllThereInTheManual His bio mentions that Talion branded him]] after trying to kill him.

* NumberTwo: To Talion himself.

A group of orcs Eltariel hires during the Blade of Galadriel DLC. These guys are static characters instead of the randomized orcs Talion meets. They are Ar-Kaius The Architect, Ogg The Bow of Morgoth, Ar-Baruk The Thrall, Màku The Fixer, Flak "Flint" and Torz

* TheBeastmaster: Ar-Baruk the Thrall is a follower of Shelob, and he controls her spiders. Golm the Digger can control Ghuls.
* BewareTheSillyOnes: Sure, you may laugh at the quirky nature of these orcs, especially the Enchanted and Flint 'n Tinder, but remember. They're still orcs who can still skewer, stab, and brutalize any who get in their way.

** Ogg is even older (See TimeAbysss below) and just so happens to be able to headshot orcs around a mile away.

[[folder:Serka The Unkillable]]

* BadBoss: The first time we see anyone question Serka's dominance they end up with a crossbow bolt in the shoulder and wyrm teeth everywhere else.
* TheDeterminator: As he tells Baranor after a hard fought battle, he is called the Unkillable not because he has never lost, but because he has always come back from the brink.

* TheMagnificent: Serka the Unkillable, Serka The Insufferable, Serka the Destroyer. He has many of these.

The second Dark Lord to terrorize Middle-earth, defeated long ago by the Last Alliance of men and elves, he has returned to Mordor after a two-and-a-half thousand year absence.

* ImplacableMan: A fight with Carnán, which also had Talion [[AttackItsWeakPoint shooting at his weak point]], failed to killed him. In his second encounter with Talion and Carnán, he takes giant icicles getting dropped on his head, gets blasted with intense cold from Carnán, and gets pushed into the water of frozen lake. He's only beaten when Carnán forces him far below the water.

* BadassCape: Has one, and it can never be removed in gameplay. ''Shadow of War'' reveals it to be a TragicKeepsake of his dead wife. [[spoiler:His wraith form also has one, like the other Nazgul.]]

* MalignedMixedMarriage: While not focused during the series due to his wife Ioreth being dead from the start, their marriage was subjected to scrutiny by her father Hallas according to the loading screens/flashbacks, since Ioreth was of Numenorean descent like most nobles and Talion was a Northman of Rhovanion that was born and raised in Gondor.

* BigDamnHero: In ''War'', he attacks an Olog-hai who is about to crush Talion. The Olog-hai makes quick work of him, but it's the opening Talion needs to retaliate.

An ambitious but useless excuse of an orc, Ratbag (unsuccessfully) attempts to advance through the ranks of Uruk society via [[KlingonPromotion underhanded means]]. After Talion rescues him (against the Ranger's better judgment), he teaches him "the ways of the orc" with how promotions and power struggles work; in return, Talion gets him installed as a Warchief. While seemingly executed by one of the Black Captains, Ratbag winds up becoming the Overlord of Núrnen in ''Shadow of War'', whereupon he and Talion cross paths again.

* ImplacableMan: A fight with Carnán, which also had Talion [[AttackItsWeakPoint shooting at his weak point]], failed to killed him. In his second encounter with Talion and Carnán, he takes giant icicles getting dropped on his head, gets blasted with intense cold from Carnán, and gets pushed into the water of frozen lake. He's only beaten when Carnán forces him far below the water.

* DarkAndTroubledPast: Dialogue in certain loading screens of ''Shadow of Mordor'' reveal that he murdered a nobleman who was trying to assault Ioreth. As this was quite a crime, the law was that he be put to death immediately - the only reason he wasn't is because Ioreth's father learned she was pregnant with Talion's child (and that she'd claim she murdered the noblemen to defend him), thus giving Talion a choice between execution or service at the Black Gate in his place. He chose the latter.

! Suladan

!! The Nazgul Sisters

[[caption-width-right:350:''"The dead aren't dead. They're just waiting for someone who will listen."'']]

[[folder:Baz, Gaz and Daz]]
!!Baz, Gaz and Daz

* ImplacableMan: A fight with Carnán, which also had Talion [[AttackItsWeakPoint shooting at his weak point]], failed to killed him. In his second encounter with Talion and Carnán, he takes giant icicles getting dropped on his head, gets blasted with intense cold from Carnán, and gets pushed into the water of frozen lake. He's only beaten when Carnán forces him far below the water.

[[folder:Takra the Sandspider"]]
The main antagonist of ''The Desolation of Mordor'' DLC.
* AnArmAndALeg: [[spoiler:Baranor detonates a barrel of grog next to him; it blows his hand off.]]

* WeakSauceWeakness: He is dazed by executions, probably so his fight wouldn't be too difficult to avoid player frustration.

* SupernaturalGoldEyes: In one of Shelob's visions, Talion is shown being dominated by the Witch-King of Angmar, his irises turning red-and-yellow. At the end of ''Shadow of War''[='=]s story mode, [[spoiler:Talion's eyes turn yellow after he claims Isildur's ring]].

* BadassBoast: After the Witch-King possesses an orc to say he comes for Talion, Celebrimbor has his own message for Sauron.

* ActionGirl: She has centuries of experience hunting the Nazgul, and has become very adept at killing them. Her EstablishingCharacterMoment shows her fending off several of the Ringwraiths including the Witch King singlehandedly to save Talion's life. [[spoiler: And during the final battle, she takes on '''Sauron''' herself alongside Celebrimbor]].

* BigDamnHero: Appears out of nowhere to save Talion from being turned into a Ringwraith by the Witch King.

* AdaptationalBadass: In the books, Shelob was sentient but couldn't care less about Sauron, who refers to her as his "cat" - a creature that isn't entirely his, but still falls under his domain. In the movies, she was merely an [[BigCreepyCrawlies oversized, yet functionally normal bug]]. Here, she's a shadow-weaving spider-shaped [[EldritchAbomination eldritch monster]] who challenges Sauron for control of Mordor, and Sauron considers her to be dangerous enough that when he learns she has the New Ring, he sends ''all'' of his Nazgul other than the Witch-King against her (and she turns out to be more than capable of fighting all 8 of them at once in her spider form). Makes sense, as she's the daughter of an EldritchAbomination that back in the day was powerful enough to be on equal terms with Melkor, ''the'' GodOfEvil who was way, ''way'' stronger than Sauron.

* RedShirt: Tarandor and Herion both have some backstory but seemingly die when the city is lost to the Witch-King early on. They pretty much exist only to fill out the spots reserved for warchiefs on the army screen.

* DistressedDude: Is made out to be one, when the [[spoiler: Witch King's agents apparently take him hostage. Ultimately subverted, in that he was never in danger; the Orcs merely claimed he was to force a confrontation with Talion]].
* FateWorseThanDeath: [[spoiler:He is raised as a wight by the Witch-King and he is still barely sentient during the whole time]].

* GenreBlindness: [[spoiler: Seemed to genuinely believe the Witch-King would honor his end of their deal. Completely forgot who the Witch-King served, and what tends to happen to the people Sauron manipulates and deceives.]]

* MeaningfulName: Shares a name with a Gondorian of royal blood who started the Kinstrife and betrayed the rightful king and whose followers after his death would flee south and eventually become the Corsairs of Umbar and allies of Mordor. [[spoiler:This Castamir also betrays Gondor to the Witch-King but only does it in a faint hope of them sparing his daughter.]]
* TheMole: [[spoiler:He's the traitor responsible for Sauron's forces overtaking Minas Ithil.]]

* ReforgedIntoAMinion: [[spoiler:The Witch-King raises him as a wight and forces Talion and Eltariel to fight him]].

* TooDumbToLive: [[spoiler: One wonders how stupid he was to think the Witch King would actually honour his end of the bargain]].

* YouHaveOutlivedYourUsefulness: [[spoiler: The Witch King wastes no time in killing Castamir after he's handed over the Palantir]].

* BigNo: Screams a horrified one after [[spoiler: the Witch King murders her father]].

* IHaveYourWife: [[spoiler: During the siege of Minas Ithil, Idril's father Castamir (who is also the commander of Gondor's forces in the city) is taken hostage by the Witch King's agents to force a confrontation with Talion. Idril [[OhCrap panics]] when the Witch King's messenger holds up a dagger belonging to her father as proof]].

* RoaringRampageOfRevenge: Subverted: [[spoiler: she tries to go after the Witch King following her father's death, but Talion stops Idril and urges her to join Baranor and the others in retreat, as there are four Nazgûl between her and the Witch King and she has no chance of defeating one such creature, let alone their leader]].
* TookALevelInBadass: Over the course of the story mode, Idril becomes a competent warrior and ranger, a far cry from the scared young soldier Talion met at the beginning of the game.

* KillItWithFire: Dagor is caught in the blast when the Witch King's drake obliterates the gate to the Upper City of Minas Ithil with a fireball; he is last seen writhing and burning on the ground, and since he is not seen again when Baranor and Talion call the retreat, it's to be presumed he perished in the flames.

* AffablyEvil: He's generally polite and civil to Tailon, often trying to just verbally coax him into giving up in a manner that doesn't involve gloating or taunting. [[spoiler:After Tailon takes up Isildur's Ring and becomes a wraith, the Witch-King welcomes him at the start of the penultimate boss fight, calling him 'brother' and clearly not desiring (or seeing the point in) a fight. And when Talion finally gives into the ring's corruption, the Witch-King appears before him in a congratulatory friendly manner, placing a hand on his shoulder and sounding genuinely pleased that he's finally come around, but also sympathetic to his defiance, basically saying, "You fought the good fight, but it's over now."]]
* ArchEnemy: To Talion, unlike the Tower and the Hand from the previous game he focuses more on the ranger than Celebrimbor and [[spoiler: is the final boss for Talion when he seizes Minas Morgul]].
* CarryABigStick: Like his book and film incarnations, the Witch King's weapon of choice is a brutal looking mace similar to his master's.

-->'''Witch King:''' I come for ''you'', Talion of Gondor.

* TheDreaded: While the Nazgûl as whole all have this status, it's the Witch-King that people fear the most.
* EmptyShell: Being the first he's been so corrupted by the ring of power he received from Sauron for so long that none of his original human-self remains, unlike other Nazgûls. Tallion can't even peer into his mind because of this.

* {{Foil}}: To Talion. The Appendices notes that Sauron is to Celebrimbor as the Witch-King is to Talion.

* ILied: [[spoiler: General Castamir makes a deal with the Witch King, offering to hand over the Palantir in exchange for his daughter's life being spared. You have to wonder how stupid Castamir was for [[TooDumbToLive thinking the Witch King would actually uphold his end of the bargain]].]]

'''Witch King''': [[spoiler: She is free to die with her people!]]
** Invoked earlier during the ''Arena'' mission when [[spoiler: the Witch King's agents have seemingly taken Castamir hostage and will spare him if Talion faces the Witch King's champion in single combat. The Gondorian defenders immediately start making plans to break their general out of captivity, not trusting the Witch King to honour his word]].
* ItsPersonal: The Witch-King holds a special hatred for all of Gondor. According to the Appendices, he especially wants to enslave Talion as a Nazgul because of that animosity he's held against Gondor for over 4,000 years.

-->'''Witch King:''' Submit to your destiny!
* YouHaveOutlivedYourUsefulness: [[spoiler: Once Castamir hands over the Palantir, the Witch King [[RewardedAsATraitorDeserves wastes no time in killing him]].]]

* BlingOfWar: In the board game he's known for his BlingOfWar, which carries over into his appearance in ''Shadow of War''. Even as a Nazgûl his appearance is somewhat more ornate than the other Nazgûl, besides the Witch-King himself.

* ClimaxBoss: Fighting him marks the PointOfNoReturn and occurs just prior to the final duels against [[spoiler: the Witch-King]] and [[spoiler: Sauron himself]].

** This continues even after they became Ringwraiths; the Sisters note that with Sauron distracted by his battle for supremacy with Celebrimbor and the Witch King weakened by his defeat at Talion's hands, [[TheStarscream their plan is to raise an army of Orcs and conquer Middle-Earth for themselves]].
--->'''Rogue Nazgûl''': The Dark Lord and the Ringmaker burn atop Barad-dûr. The Witch King is diminished. ''We are ascendant''!...You face the army we have assembled to dominate all of Mordor and you will have the honour of being its first triumph. And when your bodies lie broken on the battlefield, we will hack the Rings from your fingers and begin our conquest of Middle-Earth!

* EvilPowerVacuum: With the Witch-King diminished by Talion's defeat, Sauron locked in a eternal duel with Celebrimbor's spirit on top of Barad-dur and Talion causing disarray to his forces, the Nazgul sisters swoop right in to fill the gap... And hopefully go up from there.

* TheStarscream: They seek to steal any Rings of Power they can so that can usurp Sauron for control of Mordor, and eventually take over Middle-Earth.

* YouKillItYouBoughtIt: Like Talion, they are unique in that they obtained their rings by defeating the previous Nazgul bearers in combat rather than actually being given them by Sauron. That doesn't stop Annatar from visiting when they're corrupted enough by the Rings.

* HijackingCthulhu: Zog seeks to ensorcel Tar-Goroth and use him as a weapon [[spoiler:to usurp control of Mordor from Sauron]]. Carnan and Celebrimbor indicate that he ''would'' be able to control Tar-Goroth with dark magic, but whether he could use the Balrog to [[spoiler:overthrow Sauron]] is another question.

* AdvertisedExtra: Despite being featured heavily in the promotional material, Tar Goroth is not a major antagonist, but merely a secondary villain in the side-quests he is featured: [[spoiler: he only appears in two missions and the very start of Carnán's questlines before being disposed, while Zog is the actual ArcVillain]].
* ArchEnemy: Of Carnan, due to the fact his fire is burning her forest.
* AttackItsWeakPoint: In the first fight he has areas on his lower back and chest that can be damaged by arrows however when you catch up to him later he has [[RemovedAchillesHeel covered thoses places with armor]].
* CombatPragmatist: The first encounter with him ends this way-after taking a pounding from Carnan and Talion, he tricks them into a point where he can ambush them by giving Carnan's Graug form a headbutt and slinking off while she regenerates. In the second, it uses its own flaming trail of footprints as a trap, doubling back when it enters an ice cave and trapping Talion inside when he goes in to follow them.
* CurbStompBattle: The result of leaving Carnan's Graug form to fight him without Talion's intervention.
* EvilIsNotAToy: A Mystic Tribe Warchief by the name of Zog the Eternal is the one who provides the final push to unseal Tar-Goroth, planning to present him to Sauron in expectation of great acclaim for himself. Sadly for him, the Balrog has no interest in his schemes, and wipes out several members of his cult before engaging Talion and Carnan and then taking off to work some havoc of his own.

* TheJuggernaut: Talion's attacks don't affect him unless they hit his weak point, which unless Talion has Carnan's help, he can't reach. Without Carnan's help he'd be impossible.
* ImplacableMan: A fight with Carnan, which also had Talion shooting at his weak point, failed to killed him. In the second encounter he takes giant icicles getting dropped on his head, blasted with intense cold from Carnan, and dropped into the water of frozen lake. He's only beaten when Carnan forces him below the water of it.
* ItCanThink: Tar Goroth is far from a mindless monster, and is quite adept at turning the tables. In their first encounter, Tar-Goroth ambushes Talion and Carnan as they try to climb out of his pit, ripping the head off Carnan's Graug form and forcing Talion to concentrate his efforts on staying alive, allowing Tar Goroth to make his getaway. On their second encounter, Tar Goroth leaves a trail of tracks luring Talion and Carnan into a cave, then doubles back, waits until they have taken the bait and then launches his attack, forcing the pair to run for it.
* ItsPersonal: With Carnan as she buried him in the second age, in fact during his [[BlackSpeech otherwise unintelligible]] BossBanter in the first fight you can hear him say Carnan's name if you listen carefully.

* RoarBeforeBeating: He does this frequently, he actually does this literally when he roars at Carnan then starts repeatedly punching her in the face after charging at her.
* SealedEvilInACan: Previously slumbered deep beneath the Earth, but Talion and Celebrimbor unknowingly freed him. [[spoiler:He gets trapped once again after being defeated by Talion and Carnan, this time beneath a lake of ice]].

* TheUnintelligible: Tar Goroth speaks some form of twisted and guttural BlackSpeech that appears on subtitles, but goes untranslated (unlike Ranger's line). Talion actually asks what he is saying, but Celebrimbor replies "Does it matter?".
* WhipItGood: Uses a flaming whip as a weapon. He also swings it around to fling {{Fireballs}}.
* WorfHadTheFlu: Celebrimbor thinks that Zog can enthrall him after [[spoiler: being frozen in the lake by Carnan.]] Before Celebrimbor said that waking him up would cause death to all and Tar-Goroth kill his acolytes the moment he wakes up.

[[folder:"The Sandspider"]]

* GodOfEvil: An idol depicting him is a collectible artifact. He's more of a SatanicArchetype, but he's depicted as a god. Though, being one of the Valar - aka the equivalent to Gods, though weaker than Eru Iluvatar, in Tolkien lore - this fits quite well.

* ReligionOfEvil: The subject of one at any rate. Sauron influenced Ar-Pharazon's mind to institute the worship of Morgoth as Numenor's state religion, a fact very much resented by a woman who narrates the idol's memory found by the players.

* ShieldBash: One of Baranor's most powerful abilities with his N&uacute:menórean gear allowing him to steam roll everything in his path. Some augments allow Baranor to also set people on fire as he bashes.

* DumbassHasAPoint: When Talion shows reluctance to waste time and effort trying to free Ranger, Ratbag [[WhatTheHellHero calls him out]], [[SelfServingMemory claiming that he and Ranger somehow got rid of Brûz]] and asking why they or any other Orc in his service should support him if he won't do the same for them. Celebrimbor admits that Ratbag has a point; they will lose the loyalty of their followers if they don't prove that attacks on the Bright Lord's soldiers won't go unpunished. Notably, Ratbag ''himself'' doesn't seem sure that he has a point:

* FireForgedFriends: [[spoiler:With Talion and Ranger. While neither initially ''like'' him; the former is just using him to get to The Tower, while the latter owes him a life debt, both soon learn to appreciate him. Ranger even likes him in a gruff way. Part of it is that Ratbag is TooFunnyToBeEvil and a HarmlessVillain, and the other part is that Ratbag learns loyalty in a world of KlingonPromotion.]]

** This is likely more due to limitations with the game engine. The Shadows of the Past quests in ''Shadow of War'' reveal that Celebrimbor's operations stretched across all six of the game's playable regions (not counting ''Mordor'''s Bright Lord [=DLC=] story, which takes place in Udûn), and they were extensive enough to have necessitated the creation of barrows in five of those regions.

A Gondorian captain of Haradian origin, Baranor is second-in-command of the defence of the besieged city of Minas Ithil. Recognizing Talion's superior combat prowess and experience with fighting the armies of Mordor, Baranor tends [[NumberTwo places himself at the Ranger's disposal]] whenever their paths happen to cross. Some time after the fall of Minas Ithil, Baranor makes his way to the eastern desert of Lithlad, where he's playable in ''Shadow of War'''s "The Desolation of Mordor" DLC.

* UngratefulBastard: Due to his FantasticRacism, he despises the very Orcs who gave him enough power to face Sauron. [[spoiler:When he goes mad with the new ring's power, he abandons Talion without a second thought once he disobeys him, despite the fact that without Talion's suffering, death and help, the elf would never have gotten anywhere near Sauron.]]
* UnreliableNarrator: Whenever he recaps his history, his fight with Sauron takes place on a huge battlefield, with massive armies on both sides. In the ''Bright Lord'' DLC, their battle takes place in a relatively small area inside an uruk camp, with only a few captains at his side. Since the playable region has several locations that look more like the area seen in flashbacks, it's likely that Celebrimbor is exagerrating about the scale of the fight.

* YouHaveFailedMe: The reason for his below mentioned YouHaveOutlivedYourUsefulness. [[spoiler:Aside from his dismissal, he also seems to view Talion as having failed due to refusing to [[MoralEventHorizon Brand Isildur]], and giving him a MercyKill instead.]]

* UncertainDoom: [[spoiler:Her ultimate fate is unknown as she is last seen with her hand mutilated by Sauron watching as he absorbs Celebrimbor and the two become the flaming eye on Barad-dur. The story DLC adds to her story, according to which she outlived Sauron, but it's implied that the New Ring has had an effect on her, before the DLC endS with a SequelHook]].

A Gondorian lieutenant and second-in-command in the defence of Minas Ithil, Baranor is another who welcomes Talion's aid in the fight against Sauron. Playable in ''Shadow of War'''s "The Desolation of Mordor" DLC.

* ADayInTheLimelight: Baranor was something of a sidekick in the base game campaign, yet with the "Desolation of Mordor" DLC he has his own chance to shine.
* AndNowForSomethingCompletelyDifferent: He is playable in his own DLC, and since he has no wraith abilities or magical rings he relies on gadgetry and hired mercenaries.

* HyperCompetentSidekick: To General Castamir. Given that Castamir leads from the rear [[spoiler: and is secretly plotting with the Witch King]], it falls to Baranor to co-ordinate the defences.
* ImpliedLoveInterest: He is very close to Idril. Due to his reaction when he finds out she is still alive, it's implied that he has some sort of crush on her. Their romance is confirmed on her bio in the ''Desolation of Mordor'' DLC

* ShieldBash: One of Baranor's most powerful abilities with his Numenorean gear allowing him to steam roll everything in his path. Some augments allow Baranor to also set people on fire as he bashes.

* RewardedAsATraitorDeserves: [[spoiler:His deal with the Witch King is to spare his daughter's life in exchange for the Palantir. The Witch King scoffs she'll die with the rest of the Gondorians at a later date, and smacks him dead with his spiked mace.]]

!!Ranger [[spoiler:aka Az-Harto]]

* BigGuyLittleGuy: With Ratbag, who is a runt orc in contrast to Ranger being a hulking olog-hai.
* DeadpanSnarker: He's aware that no-one else is able to translate Black Speech, and takes the opportunity to snark at both Ratbag and Talion whenever they fail to understand him.

* HiddenDepths: Ratbag has always been completely hopeless in combat, and he always will be (bear in mind that this guy cowers when confronted by ''grunts''); however, he's a good tracker and decent at stealth, and in ''Shadow of War'', his skills prove to be useful in [[spoiler:locating the missing Ranger and enabling Talion to get the drop on Brûz]].

* GoodScarsEvilScars: Careful eyes will notice the massive scar that has stitches down the right side of his face. To listen to Ratbag, it was a love tap, but the wound indicates the entire side of Ratbag's face was split open like a cantelope. IronButtMonkey indeed.

* VillainousBreakdown: [[spoiler:After being Shamed, Brúz is reduced to a former shell of what he used to be.]]

* TheNameless: A Captain who has been Shamed (and possibly killed) by Talion may return as "the Nameless One", giving a WhatTheHellPlayer, saying he's fighting for all of the other Captains Talion has Shamed. [[ImmediateSelfContradiction The Captain will still keep his proper name, though.]]