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1!![[center: [-'''Setting-wide:''' [[Characters/TolkiensLegendariumPeoples Peoples and Races]], [[Characters/TheLordOfTheRingsSauron Sauron]]-]]] [[center:[-''Characters/TheSilmarillion'': [[Characters/TheSilmarillionEruAndTheAinur Eru and the Ainur]], [[Characters/TheSilmarillionEnemies Enemies]], [[Characters/TheSilmarillionFirstGenerationElvenRoyalty First-Generation Elven Royalty]], [[Characters/TheSilmarillionHouseOfFeanor the House of Fëanor]], [[Characters/TheSilmarillionHouseOfFingolfin the House of Fingolfin]]-]]] [[center:[-'''''The Hobbit'''''-]]] [[center:[-''Characters/TheLordOfTheRings'': [[Characters/TheLordOfTheRingsTheFellowship The Fellowship of the Ring]], [[Characters/TheLordOfTheRingsFreeMen Free Men]], [[Characters/TheLordOfTheRingsTheElves the Elves]], [[Characters/TheLordOfTheRingsTheForcesOfSauron the Forces of Sauron]], [[Characters/TheLordOfTheRingsOtherCharacters Other Characters]]-]]]
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3These are the characters from ''Literature/TheHobbit'' by Creator/JRRTolkien.
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5This page is for the '''BOOK ONLY'''. For the characters as they were portrayed in the Creator/PeterJackson [[Film/TheHobbit film trilogy]], see [[Characters/MiddleEarthFilm here]].
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7For the characters that are portrayed in Amazon's ''Series/TheLordOfTheRingsTheRingsOfPower'', see [[Characters/TheLordOfTheRingsTheRingsOfPower here]]. They are set in a different continuity from the films.
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9See also character sheets for ''Characters/TheSilmarillion'' and ''Characters/TheLordOfTheRings'' (or [[Characters/MiddleEarthFilm the latter's film versions]]), which are set in the same universe (and, indeed, feature some of the same characters).
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11[[foldercontrol]]
12
13!The Company
14
15[[folder:Bilbo Baggins]]
16[[quoteright:209:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/bilbo_baggins_tolkien_illustration.jpg]]
17[[caption-width-right:209:Bilbo smoking his pipe at Bag End, as depicted by Tolkien.]]
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19A Hobbit chosen by the wizard Gandalf to accompany thirteen Dwarves on a quest to reclaim the Lonely Mountain and its treasure from the dragon Smaug.\
20\
21See ''Characters/TheLordOfTheRings'' character sheet for tropes that apply to him in that work.
22----
23* AlliterativeName: '''B'''il'''b'''o '''B'''aggins.
24* AudienceSurrogate: He's totally unfamiliar with all the lore and geography outside of the Shire, requiring its explanation.
25* TheBabyOfTheBunch: At the youthful age of 50, he's by a good margin the youngest member of the party.
26* BadassNormal: He starts the story as a homebody living a comfortable life as essentially a minor country gentleman, without any personal experience in anything more strenuous that preparing his dinner or keeping home. Nonetheless, despite a very rough start, he's able to keep up with the far more world-wise and combat-experience dwarves through their dangerous journey and get the group out of several close calls.
27* BritishStuffiness: Bilbo is very much modeled on a country squire of Tolkien's era or slightly before: shackled by manners and a code of propriety from expressing himself (even when facing a home invasion by thirteen uninvited guests). Through the story, Bilbo slowly loses those inhibitions via his exposure to the forthright dwarves and learns to speak his mind but tempered with the tact and subtlety of his upbringing. In his conversation with Smaug, he's able to amuse the dragon with his riddling speak and yet land a number of solid blows against Smaug's overpowering ego.
28* CharacterDevelopment: At first he's more or less useless. Starting when he picks up the Ring, he becomes a lot more brave and competent. By the time he gets the dwarves out of the Elven-king's dungeon, he's the de facto leader.
29* TheChosenZero: Gandalf is the only one who has faith in him in the beginning; the dwarves and Bilbo himself think he's unfit for the journey.
30* ClassicalAntiHero: Bilbo starts out as a rather bumbling homebody who's really not cut out for fighting, sneaking, or hiking in the wilderness, and tends to be more of a burden on the company than anything. He evolves into a more heroic figure over time.
31* ConservationOfCompetence: The only one with a plan to escape Mirkwood.
32* CoolSword: Sting, an elven long knife that glows when orcs are near.
33* CuteButCacophonic: When captured by the goblins, he lets out a yell which is surprisingly loud for his size. This is [[LampshadeHanging lampshaded]] by the narrator.
34* EastwardEndeavor: Bilbo gets dragged into the Dwarves' quest to get Smaug's treasure in the east. He's more or less useless at the beginning, but some incidents later (including getting [[ArtifactOfDoom the One Ring]] and saving the party from huge spiders) he becomes much more competent. In the end, his experiences turned him into a full GentlemanAdventurer.
35* FireForgedFriends: His relationship with the rest of the Company.
36* GentlemanAdventurer: By the end of the book he's quite embraced his adventurer persona. This also has the effect of ruining his good name in Hobbiton.
37* GentlemanThief: Lampshaded. When he's offended, the dwarves assume that he's the kind who prefers to be called "expert treasure-hunter" or the like.
38* GiantsKnifeHumansGreatsword: When the party is arming themselves from the trolls' hoard, Bilbo grabs a blade that fits him well as a one-handed sword. Elven and Mannish swords are normally far too large for a Hobbit to wield -- but to the Elves who originally made it this one was just a simple knife.
39-->'''Balin''': I wouldn't bother, lad. Swords are named for the great deeds they've done in battle.\
40'''Bilbo''': Are you saying my sword hasn't seen battle?\
41'''Balin''': Not sure it is a sword, to be honest. More of a letter-opener.
42* GuileHero: Unlike his dwarven companions, Bilbo prefers to use his words and brain to get him out of tight situations. His tiny size and dislike of battle also makes this trope necessary to his survival throughout the quest.
43* HardHead: Knocked unconscious twice without serious consequence.
44* TheHero: He's the central hero of the quest for Erebor, and thus the book.
45* {{Hobbits}}: Considering that he was the first one ever created, Bilbo Baggins is ''the'' hobbit of all hobbits.
46* HomeSweetHome: Conflicting with his desire for the quest, Bilbo is often afflicted with homesickness for his comfortable, warm, rain-proof Hobbit-hole and its nice well-stocked larder.
47* IJustWantToBeNormal: Along with IJustWantToBeBadass. Bilbo is torn between the conflicting sides of his personality: his Baggins side just wants to have a normal, comfortable life, and his Tookish side wants to have adventures.
48* IntergenerationalFriendship: Along with InterspeciesFriendship. He's considerably younger than the dwarves and especially Gandalf, but becomes fast friends with them.
49* ImprobableAimingSkills: The books establish early on that Bilbo is impossibly accurate when throwing stones, to the point that he could ''knock birds out of the air.'' (Note that there are plenty of claims that [[http://www.myarmoury.com/talk/viewtopic.php?p=158818 credit slings]] with this kind of accuracy in the hands of expert practitioners.)
50* IShouldWriteABookAboutThis: He's not only the trope picture, but he's also [[DirectLineToTheAuthor the original author]] of the book. Too bad he's also an UnreliableNarrator.
51* LineageComesFromTheFather: Subverted, since it's his mother Belladonna's Took lineage that's significant to his joining the quest when his father Bungo's Baggins lineage would have him stay at home.
52* TheLoad: Until he saves the dwarves from the spiders. After that point, he's pretty much carrying the team.
53* MyGodWhatHaveIDone:
54** When Bilbo locates and pockets the Arkenstone, he knows what it is, what it means to Thorin, and that it was almost certainly meant to be excluded from the "pick your own share" clause of his contract. He nicks it anyway, admitting that "Now I truly am a burglar". It's only later that he tries to make good of his action by handing it over to Bard and Thranduil to use as a bargaining chip with Thorin (which in itself is a pretty dodgy action but done for the purest motives).
55** With the fact that Bilbo is the in-universe writer of ''The Hobbit'' firmly in mind, the detail that he specifically included the Mirkwood incident and made no effort to hide his lack of involvement (there is a distinct lack of any mention of Bilbo between the appalling series of events between the butterflies and the first wood-elf sighting) can be interpreted as him sharing the story as an expression of penitence.
56* StealthExpert: He mutters about "all this dwarvish racket" even though they were being completely silent. When ''Bilbo'' goes quiet, the narrator informs the reader they'd never notice him even if he crossed by in front of them.
57* StrangerInAFamiliarLand: After a long and exciting adventure, Bilbo returns to the Shire safe and rich... only to discover that his fellow hobbits have not only missed him but have even tried to take over his home and belongings. He also finds out that no one believes the stories of his adventures, and that added to his mysterious disappearance makes him lose his reputation. He still lives comfortably and happily for a long time in the Shire.
58* TookALevelInBadass: Bilbo goes from an ordinary hobbit, who, as a responsible adult, shows disdain for adventures, to facing down a dragon.
59* UnfazedEveryman: It takes a long time and even at the end there are many things he finds awkward and frightening, but he does get there.
60
61[[/folder]]
62
63[[folder:Thorin II Oakenshield]]
64The leader of the Company of Dwarves who have set out to reclaim the Lonely Mountain from Smaug the dragon. He is the uncle of Fíli and Kíli, and shares direct ancestry with Balin, Dwalin, Óin and Glóin (their mutual great-great-grandfather is Náin II).
65
66----
67* AntiHero: While he's a leader on a fairly epic quest, he's also choleric and greedy.
68* ArmorPiercingQuestion: Throws one at Bard, questioning what Thorin's kinsmen would have got if Bard had found the treasure unguarded and the Company slain.
69* AuthorityEqualsAsskicking: Thorin's most definitely this for the dwarves, who all look up to him both because of his leadership and his prowess in combat.
70* BreakingSpeech: Gives Bombur an exceedingly nasty one because he’s annoyed about Bombur crying about being sick and in pain. It's cut from nearly all adaptions, except for a graphic novel adaptation, which notably leaves out the bit about Thorin telling Bombur that they would have abandoned him if he hadn't woken up when he did.
71* TheBerserker: Dori complains that during the fight against the goblins that multiple times he was nearly accidentally killed by Thorin and Gandalf respectively. Gandalf nearly sliced poor Dori's head off once, and Thorin? He was "stabbing here and there and everywhere with Orcrist".
72* ByronicHero: A charismatic leader with a DarkAndTroubledPast and a talent for music, who obsessively tries to reclaim his birthright and refuses to give up even a shred of it for any reason, including his own survival, and whose defining traits are Greed and Pride? Yep, he qualifies.
73* BestServedCold: He spends decades plotting against Smaug the dragon for destroying his people's kingdom.
74* CharacterDevelopment: It takes longer for it to kick in, but he manages it before the end.
75* CelibateHero: He never married or had kids.
76* TheComicallySerious: A good number of jokes in the story involving him spring from the fact that he's a pretty serious and humorless character -- making it all the sillier when he gets dumped to the bottom of a pile of dwarves.
77* CoolSword: Orcrist, an elven sword. Although it's confiscated by the Wood-elves and never returned [[spoiler:while he is alive]]; he later uses a dwarven axe from the Lonely Mountain's armories.
78* DarkAndTroubledPast: Poor Thorin had a pretty rough life. His kingdom, Erebor, was taken over by a dragon who either killed most of its inhabitants in the initial attack or forced them to flee to distant lands. Much of Thorin's life afterwards was spent working in menial, dead-end jobs that brought little respect from the humans around him. His grandfather Thrór was brutally murdered by Azog for daring to set foot inside the gate of Moria, the Longbeards' original stronghold. Then, Thorin had to fight in a war of vengeance against the orcs, climaxing in the Battle of Azanulbizar, which cost his people a huge percentage of their fighting strength (essentially every dwarven male of fighting age fought in the battle), including his brother. Not long after that, his father Thráin embarked on an attempt to take back the Mountain. After several years of getting nowhere, Thráin disappeared and was presumed dead, and Thorin spent the next hundred years burdened with the fact he'd have to do likewise or be a failure of a king, 'an heir, but an heir without hope'. Very little seems to ever go right or come easy to the poor guy.
79* ConservationOfCompetence: Along with Bilbo, he is the only one who is not immediately jumped by trolls, the only one who keeps his bow out in a forest.
80* {{Determinator}}: Despite his many flaws, Thorin's determined to reclaim his clan's rightful ancestral homeland and treasure.
81* {{Deuteragonist}}: Thorin is the second character after Bilbo because the quest is to restore Thorin as King under the Mountain.
82* DisappearedDad: His father Thráin disappeared attempting to reclaim the Mountain when Thorin was ninety-five, leaving Thorin to care for and guide the exiled Dwarves of Erebor alone.
83* DoomedHometown: The Lonely Mountain, which was attacked and occupied by Smaug.
84* EnemyMine: Thorin is forced to team up with the Elves and the people of Lake-Town after learning that [[spoiler:the Goblins and Wargs are marching to their location. Ironically, this is what prevents Thorin from becoming a FallenHero.]]
85* EstablishingCharacterMoment: He's the only dwarf not to greet Bilbo with "at your service." He is also the only one ''not'' to help clean the dishes. He's also on the bottom of a pile of dwarves when the door is opened too fast. Gandalf chuckles at this.
86* EtTuBrute: [[spoiler:Has this reaction after Bilbo betrays him by giving the Arkenstone to Bard and the Elves to use as a bargaining chip.]]
87* TheExile: Of the NobleFugitive variety.
88* FatalFlaw: {{Pride}}, {{Greed}} and {{Revenge}}, which are big influences on his desire to reclaim the Lonely Mountain and his subsequent TragicMistake. {{Wrath}} where poor Bombur was concerned.
89* {{Greed}}: His quest has an undercurrent of this, since it's not just to take {{Revenge}} on the dragon and [[RightfulKingReturns reclaim his ancestral realm]] but also to reclaim its hoard of treasure, despite not exactly living in poverty anymore -- though he ''does'' have a valid claim to it, more than the invading dragon who drove his people out. Comes to the fore when the lingering "dragon-sickness" effect of the treasure affects his judgment, increasing his gold-lust.
90* GrumpyOldMan: For most of the book -- until he becomes King and he dresses up in armor, revealing his inner soldier.
91* HeelRealization: [[spoiler:On his death bed, Thorin comes to regret his fall from grace, and honors the request to give money to the people of Lake-Town.]]
92* {{Hypocrite}}: He takes great offense to Bombur rambling...despite it being firmly established that Thorin is the one whose flaw is that he rambles on for ages if given a chance. Especially since his very...''intense'' rebuke is just as long as Bombur's rambling.
93* ImpaledWithExtremePrejudice: [[spoiler:This is presumably how he was killed, as the text mentions that he fell pierced with spears.]]
94* ImpoverishedPatrician: Reduced to blacksmithing for a living and living in what he describes as his 'poor lodgings in exile'
95* ImprovisedArmour: How he got his name.
96* JerkWithAHeartOfGold: Although he grumps and complains about Bilbo being TheLoad, he ''will'' go rescue him when it's needed. And after Bilbo's CharacterDevelopment, he comes to have quite a bit of respect for the hobbit. He also makes it clear that he will make sure Bilbo gets his share of the treasure.
97* KickTheDog: Bombur was sitting on the ground, hurt and in tears because he hadn't had any nourishment for six days, and THAT'S when Thorin snaps and begins to emotionally and verbally abuse him. The worst Bombur is capable of is rambling about his dreams and Thorin ''still'' responds to that by going out of his way to '''BREAK''' him. What? Words can't hurt? What are you talking about?
98-->'''Thorin:''' [[ThreateningTropes If you hadn't waked up]], [[WhamLine we should have left you]] to your [[KickTheDog idiotic dreams]] [[MurderByInAction in the forest]].
99** In fairness to Thorin, he was at his wit's end, out of food, and trapped in an oppressive forest with no end in sight. Plus the Company had been stuck hauling Bombur for six days on low rations and its not like he was an easy burden.
100* TheLeader: Of the dwarves.
101* LeeroyJenkins: Double Subverted. At first Thorin appears to be playing it safe was he figures out who captured all twelve other dwarves. Then Bilbo informs him that it's three enormous trolls...and without another moments thought he rushes out there without a weapon (he grabs a burning log from their fire and works with that) and tries to take them on all at once. This act of stupidity is what results in Gandalf to having to rescue everyone.
102* NotSoAboveItAll: Thorin comes to rely on Bilbo just as much as the rest of them.
103* OddNameOut: The only dwarf with a last name, and the only one whose name doesn't rhyme with or otherwise sound similar to that of at least one other dwarf in the company. Though it does rhyme with his great-great-uncle Borin (great-grandfather of Balin, Dwalin, Óin, and Glóin). And technically "Oakenshield" isn't a surname, it's an epithet he got when vowing to only weild a shield of oak in honor of fallen dwarves.
104* OldSoldier: At one hundred and ninety-five, one of the oldest out there, and a veteran of the Goblin Wars.
105* OurDwarvesAreAllTheSame: Along with Gimli in ''Literature/TheLordOfTheRings'', he is the TropeCodifier.
106* ThePatriarch: The dwarves are fiercely patriarchal, considering themselves all descended from the original seven 'Fathers' of the dwarves. Thorin, as king of the eldest clan (the Longbeards or Durin's Folk) is the symbolic father of the entire race. In ''The Hobbit'', he displays all the qualities of a more literal patriarch among his company, including the tragically late expression of his respect for the black sheep, Bilbo.
107* {{Pride}}: Causes issues quite a few times and is an influence on his TragicMistake.
108* PrinceCharmless: It's almost certain that the pompous and arrogant Prince-In-Exile Thorin would know how to behave himself in the home of a guest. He does, for Elrond and Beorn, but for Bilbo, his royal highness must have decided the hobbit was unworthy of common manners. After an undignified entrance he fumes silently which Bilbo, out of a mixture of fear and politeness, apologizes for so much that finally, he lets it go. He hums so loudly that Bilbo can hear him through the wall and is kept up, smokes with his feet on the fender while Bilbo and the dwarves are doing the dishes, and when Bilbo suggests that they all have breakfast before leaving on the quest. Thorin agrees, except he takes it for granted that Bilbo will make the breakfast (and then all the dwarves follow his royal lead and order them, leaving Bilbo royally peeved).
109-->'''Thorin:''' I like six eggs with my ham, when starting on a journey: fried not poached, and mind you don't break 'em.
110* RagsToRiches: Reclaims his kingdom and his wealth.
111* RamblingOldManMonologue: Thorin is notorious for speaking at length and never doing away with the formalities to the point that the narrator lampshades it on a number of occasions.
112* RealMenWearPink: His badassery isn't undermined by him playing a golden {{harp|OfFemininity}} extremely well.
113* RedemptionEqualsDeath: [[spoiler:When he finally gets his throne and gold, he [[SanitySlippage almost goes off the deep end]], refuses to help the survivors of Laketown (who took the brunt of Smaug's anger after the Company went into Lonely Mountain and stirred him up, and who actually killed him), and nearly murders Bilbo after the latter attempts to resolve the conflict. Later, Thorin [[BigDamnHeroes leads his dwarves into the Battle of the Five Armies]] and dies from his wounds shortly after. On his deathbed, he apologizes to Bilbo.]]
114* {{Revenge}}: This is another main motivator in his quest to reclaim the Lonely Mountain from Smaug.
115* RichesToRags: The (once removed) heir to an immensely wealthy kingdom, but was driven out by Orcs.
116* RightfulKingReturns: The goal of his quest, apart from killing Smaug, is to restore himself to Erebor's throne.
117* RoyalsWhoActuallyDoSomething: Taking back Erebor is no easy task, but Thorin firmly believes that it is his responsibility as the king of the Longbeard Dwarves to reclaim their ancestral home and riches. And (as revealed in later books) despite his sometimes arrogant behavior, Thorin is also willing to do the same work and menial jobs as his fellow dwarves in exile.
118* SanitySlippage: Starts to lose it when he finally gets his throne and gold but manages to pull himself back from the brink at the last minute. Thereafter, he seems to realize what a jerk he's been and is more cordial to both his allies and enemies.
119* ScrewPolitenessImASenior: More like "screw politeness, I'm important" [[LemonyNarrator according to the narrator]]. Thorin specifically does not introduce himself to Bilbo by declaring to be "at your service", nor does he assist the other dwarves in doing the washing-up after they eat, and throughout the rest of the book, his manners are rather brusque and business-like.
120* SesquipedalianLoquaciousness: He's very long-winded and rather pompous.
121* SuicidalOverconfidence: The quest for Erebor ultimately comes down to this. They couldn't defeat Smaug when they had an entire dwarven kingdom at their backs. Thorin plans to do so with only a dozen companions (plus Bilbo being added on at Gandalf's insistence), who start off the journey with no weapons. How much of this is him genuinely thinking he'll pull it off versus thinking he at least has to ''try'' is unclear.
122* SurroundedByIdiots: His Company is composed mainly of dwarves... well... generally [[ConservationOfCompetence less than totally competent.]]
123* TragicHero: It's generally believed his fate to be this is sealed after his TragicMistake. He gets what he wants, but [[spoiler:he only has it for less than a month before his demise]].
124* TragicMistake: After reclaiming the Lonely Mountain, Thorin starts repeatedly doing this due to his {{Fatal Flaw}}s (likely further exacerbated by GoldFever): he seals himself inside the Mountain, refuses to honor his agreement with the survivors of Lake-town despite the destruction and dispossession they've suffered from Smaug's attack (not least due to a grudge against Thranduil), and he denounces his friend Bilbo as a traitor upon learning the latter has aided the Lakemen and Thranduil. How beyond the will of Eru this causes Thorin's downfall is uncertain given what happens next, but this is interpreted as what seals Thorin's fate in the Battle of Five Armies.
125* TheUnchosenOne: The prophecy of Laketown, when the rightful mountain king comes, ''the streams shall run in gladness'' (the journey upriver) ''the like will shine and burn'' (Smaug's attack) ''sorrow shall fail and sadness'' (this means that when the true king returns, sorrow shall ''fail'', as in there will be no more sorrow for a while). Thorin's brief reign was fairly miserable and the resulting battle was gloomy indeed. But after Dáin is crowned and sorts everything out responsibly that things truly become happier for the next sixty years.
126-->'''Bilbo:''' Then the prophecies of the old songs have turned out to be true, after a fashion!\
127'''Gandalf:''' Of course! And why should not they prove true? Surely you don't disbelieve the prophecies, because you had a hand in bringing them about yourself? You don't really suppose, do you, that all your adventures and escapes were managed by mere luck, just for your sole benefit? You are a very fine person, Mr. Baggins, and I am very fond of you; but you are only quite a little fellow in a wide world after all!\
128'''Bilbo:''' ''(Laughing)'' Thank goodness!
129* WarriorPrince: He's unquestionably the most skilled warrior in the Company and charges into battle alongside his fellows without a second thought. (Though he will generally not be the ''first'' be where trolls and elves are concerned)
130[[/folder]]
131
132[[folder:Bombur]]
133A dwarf with just enough HiddenDepths to break through being often described as "fat". For the first act, he can usually be counted on putting in the heavy work and being described as heavy. [[TraumaCongaLine But]] [[BrokenAce after that...]]\
134
135Among the Company, he is the brother of Bofur and cousin of Bifur.
136
137----
138* AllOfTheOtherReindeer: Bombur gets this from the others in Mirkwood after Thorin starts it off by ripping the poor guy a new one for rambling about his coma dreams. When Bombur wails that his legs (which the narrator has already told us are weak and wobbly from being comatose for six days) won’t carry him and he needs to stop and sleep, the others reply with: "No you don't! Let your legs take their share, we have carried you far enough!" (It's implied that this exchange and variations of it took place over the course of an entire day) Later, when Bilbo describes having similar dreams as Bombur, they say that Bilbo's "gone like Bombur."
139* AmnesiacHero: He forgets the last (eventful) four months but remains a protagonist through it.
140* BigEater: By the time of the Council of Elrond in ''The Lord of the Rings'', seventy-seven years later, he's gotten so fat that he can no longer move around on his own and requires six young dwarves to move him "from couch to table".
141* TheBigGuy: Bombur is the company’s sole percussion in the company’s music group, puts up, along with his cousin Bifur, the best fight against the trolls, and is the literal big guy, though not all of it is fat (see StoutStrength below).
142* ButtMonkey: Bombur suffers almost constant misfortune in the Mirkwood chapter, starting with just being peeved about going last and snowballing into far, far worse from there.
143* CharacterDevelopment: He goes from a fairly plucky, outspoken dwarf, but the events in Mirkwood did a number on his self-esteem, making this a rather tragic example of a character developing in the opposite direction of the norm.
144* ChewToy: Very prominently so in the books after his misfortunes graduate into stuff more serious than a mere ButtMonkey.
145* DrivenToSuicide: After taking a heap of abuse from the other Dwarves for his magical coma creating problems and dealing with the aftermath from not eating for the six days, and repeatedly begging for (and being very harshly denied) a rest, Bombur decides that there's no hope of getting out of the forest and refuses to be arm-twisted into struggling any further -- and lies down and declares that he never wants to wake up again. He gets up when Balin spots a light in the distance, though he’s still clearly damaged.
146* TheEeyore: After his TraumaCongaLine, he’s usually either standing quietly off to the side or fretting about something going horribly wrong. (His explanation for why he won’t go up to the higher camp is a good example of this)
147* MeaningfulName: Bombur's name means "The Swollen One" in Old Norse.
148* MisplacedRetribution: Bombur’s fall into the river is the result of a deer knocking him in because he was the last out of the boat, though the dwarves still, for some reason, curse poor Bombur’s clumsiness and take all their frustrations on the resulting complications out on him.
149* NoSympathy: Thorin’s reaction to Bombur sitting on the ground crying because he hasn’t eaten for a whopping six days is to give Bombur, essentially an extended “shut up” adding that Bombur should have been abandoned because he’s heavy. The others follow suit, prioritizing having Bombur struggle with walking (from not having to eat in six days!) because they didn’t like having to carry him. Granted we know carrying Bombur was “wearisome” but there was a line and it was definitely crossed.
150* PersonalHorror: He loses his memories, thus waking up in the horrible place that is Mirkwood without remembering how he got there. He loses all his strength, previously going from being able to keep up with the others at a dead run to struggling withstanding. And then the heir of Durin makes it his personal mission to destroy his self-worth, which soon results in the company following said heir's lead in the bullying (or at least turning a blind eye to it, in Balin and possibly Bilbo's case -- though with Bilbo's case it's important to note that he felt guilty enough about it to include the incident, as well as his own lack of involvement, in his memoir, which is how the reader learns about the whole sorry affair to begin with). As a result, Bombur is badly damaged and traumatized; his arc is about him making a very slow recovery (which, realistically, is far from complete by the end).
151** Judging by the mention of his current status in Lord of the Rings, where he's said to be too fat to even stand up without assistance, it's quite possible that he ''never'' recovered.
152* OnlySaneMan: In chapter two after the whole troll trouble has been resolved, Bilbo is terrified, Gandalf adapts to it, Thorin's reaction is to do his level best to gouge the troll’s eyes out (all by himself against three trolls who have already taken the rest of the company out).
153--> '''Bombur:''' Pity to go pinching and pocket-picking, when what we wanted was fire and food!
154* StoutStrength: Bombur pulls his own weight through the company's considerable trials (when he hasn't been starved for six days) despite being referred to as "fat".
155* UnconsciousObjector: He manages to resist the enchanted stream's enchantment long enough to grab a rope and clutch it to be pulled ashore. Even in his sleep, he's clenching it so hard "in spite of all they could do" they can't get it away from them.
156
157[[/folder]]
158
159[[folder:Balin]]
160Descendent of Náin II, son of Fundin and elder brother of Dwalin; first cousin of Oin and Gloin (their father was Fundin's brother). Thorin, another descendent of Náin II, is also his kinsman.
161
162----
163* ColorCodedCharacters: Balin is shown wearing a scarlet hood.
164* BigBrotherMentor: To Bilbo.
165* BusCrash: He, Óin, and Ori die years after the events of the book, during an effort to reclaim ''another'' lost dwarf-realm: [[Literature/TheLordOfTheRings Moria]].
166* ConservationOfCompetence: Balin is depicted as having good judgment.
167* CoolOldGuy: Balin, while not especially old for a dwarf, looks the part and is one of the closest to Bilbo. He is also the only member of the party to come back to Hobbiton to visit Bilbo after the events of ''The Hobbit''.
168* OldSoldier: Balin is a veteran of Azanulbizar.
169* TheReliableOne: He's the first dwarf to take Bilbo seriously and later is the only one to stand up for him when he falls out with the other dwarves.
170
171[[/folder]]
172
173[[folder:Dori]]
174A remote kinsman of Thorin, brother of Nori and cousin of Ori.
175
176----
177* TheBigGuy: Dori is the strongest of the dwarves. He often ends up carrying Bilbo.
178* TheEeyore: Dori. It's justifiable since Dori's often put-upon carrying Bilbo.
179* HumanPackMule: Dori.
180* JerkWithAHeartOfGold: Dori gets irritated when upon being saddled with saving Bilbo from the wargs but doesn't hesitate to buckle down and do it. "Dori really was a decent fellow despite his grumbling", said the narrator.
181* TheReliableOne: Dori is often the last person to escape a tough situation, and also often the one to risk himself to help out Bilbo.
182
183[[/folder]]
184
185[[folder:Glóin]]
186Brother of Óin, first cousins with Balin and Dwalin, descendent of Náin II (a status he shares with Thorin) and father of Gimli.
187
188----
189* TheCameo: Glóin's appearance in ''Literature/TheLordOfTheRings''.
190* ColorCodedCharacters: Glóin is described as wearing a white cloak.
191* CoolOldGuy: Becomes this by the time of ''Literature/TheLordOfTheRings''.
192* PretenderDiss: Notes he thought Bilbo more a grocer than a burglar.
193* TookALevelInKindness: Age, wealth, and experience has made Glóin considerably more polite and kindly in ''The Lord of the Rings'' than the Dwarves appear to be in ''The Hobbit''.
194
195[[/folder]]
196
197[[folder:Fili and Kili]]
198Thorin's nephews, sons of his sister Dís.
199
200-----
201* ColorCodedCharacters: Blue, showing their connection to Thorin, but at the same time distinct from him -- Fili and Kili are repeatedly shown as helpful and friendly and have cloaks simply referred to as blue with no decorations. Thorin, on the other hand, is established arrogant and haughty and is singled out as specifically having a ''sky'' blue cloak (with a silver tassel).
202* HeroicSacrifice: They died defending their mortally-wounded uncle Thorin at the Battle of the Five Armies.
203* ThePollyanna: Fíli and Kíli are shown as happy and energetic even when all the rest are exhausted, this is implied to them being much younger than the others.
204* SiblingTeam: Fíli and Kíli are almost never seen apart, and this often includes them taking on tasks that they would be better suited for than the older dwarves.
205
206[[/folder]]
207
208[[folder: The Rest of the Dwarves[[note]]Dwalin, Óin, Nori, Ori, Bifur, Bofur [[/note]]]]
209The rest of the Company, consisting of Dwalin (younger brother of Balin), Oin and Gloin (sons of Gróin and first cousins of Balin and Dwalin), Nori (brother of Dori), Ori (cousin of Dori and Nori), Bifur (cousin of brothers Bofur and Bombur) and Bofur (cousin of Bifur, brother of Bombur).
210
211-----
212* BandOfRelatives: About half of the dwarves [[labelnote:*]]Thorin, Fíli, Kíli, Balin, Dwalin, Óin, and Glóin [[/labelnote]] are fairly close kinsmen. All of them play instruments.
213* BusCrash: Óin and Ori die following Balin to reclaim [[Literature/TheLordOfTheRings Moria]].
214* CatchPhrase: "[X], at your service."
215* ColorCodedCharacters: Tolkien lists the colors of the Dwarves' hooded cloaks as if that would help you keep them straight. If you pair up colors and names in the orders they are both listed, you should get:
216** Dwalin -- Dark green
217** Nori -- Purple[[note]]Along with Dori[[/note]]
218** Ori -- Grey
219** Óin -- Brown
220** Bifur and Bofur -- Yellow
221* CrouchingMoronHiddenBadass: They're mostly PlayedForLaughs until they reclaim the Lonely Mountain and they show they're of a warrior race.
222* DisappearedDad: Balin and Dwalin's father Fundin fell at Azanulbizar and so became one of the Burned Dwarves -- the casualties of the battle were too numerous to be buried according to dwarven custom.
223* DoomedHomeTown: The Lonely Mountain, which was attacked and occupied by Smaug.
224* FlatCharacter: Most of the dwarves do nothing to distinguish themselves.
225* GrumpyOldMan: Most of the dwarves.
226* ItsAllAboutMe: Not unusually since the Dwarves of Middle-Earth are a reserved and suspicious people towards outsiders. They rack up extra points for bribing the people of Laketown to aid them instead of imprison them, and after their involvement with the people of Laketown leads to Smaug decimating them, the Dwarves turn the survivors away instead of aiding them.
227** They’re not above inflicting this treatment on their own, despite Bombur losing his memories and suffering the aftermath of an actual freaking coma and the “weak and wobbly legs” and disorientation that comes with it they aggressively reject Bombur’s expressions of distress and fixate on them having to CARRY him and the fact that he had good dreams while unconscious (never mind the fact that he’s clearly described as sitting on the ground weeping shortly after his awakening)
228* JerkWithAHeartOfGold: Most of the Dwarves could be considered to be this.
229--> ...Dwarves are not heroes, but calculating folk with a great idea of the value of money; some are tricky and treacherous and pretty bad lots; some are not, but are decent enough people like Thorin and Company, if you don't expect too much.
230%%* TheLoad: They serve next to no purpose for most of the book. ZCE
231* OldSoldier: Dwalin and Óin were also probably at Azanulbizar since they're both older than Glóin, [who's directly stated to have fought there], but they're not confirmed as being there by Tolkien.
232* RhymeThemeNaming: All of the fraternal pairs have rhyming (or at least similar) names.
233* SiblingTeam:
234** Balin and Dwalin are described as talking "like old friends" when they meet up at Bilbo's house.
235** Óin and Glóin, they are seen working together to light a fire but their teamwork has a vitriolic flavor as they bicker and fight when they have a hard time lighting the fire. They also go against the trolls as a duo.
236** Bofur and Bombur stay down at the lower camp together at the doorstep. Bifur can count as an honorary "sibling", as he and Bofur are seen helping Bombur after Thorin gets separated from the rest of the group and the spider incident occurs, they battle the trolls as a trio, and Bofur chooses to stay down with Bombur, who is sleeping when the secret door is opened
237* TeethClenchedTeamWork: Though it's justified, concerning how miserable the conditions often are for them.
238
239[[/folder]]
240
241!Friends...
242
243[[folder:Gandalf the Grey]]
244See his character sheet in ''Characters/TheLordOfTheRings''.
245[[/folder]]
246
247[[folder:Elrond Half-Elven]]
248See his character sheet in ''Characters/TheLordOfTheRings''.
249[[/folder]]
250
251[[folder:The Lord of the Eagles]]
252->"''I hear wolves' voices! Are the goblins at mischief in the woods?''"\
253
254The leader of the Eagles of Manwë at the time of the story.
255
256----
257* AwesomeMomentOfCrowning: Apparently he's named King of All Birds and given a sizable portion of the Dwarves' treasure (presumably for his pivotal role in the Battle of Five Armies).
258* BackForTheFinale: He brings an entire host of eagles to the Battle of Five Armies.
259* TheCavalry: As the Battle of Five Armies is turning against the Dwarves, Elves and Lake-men, he leads the other Eagles into battle and manages to lead his followers into driving the Goblins and Wargs away from the slopes of the Lonely Mountain.
260* EthnicityMonarch: He's the ruler of the Great Eagles. This is exaggerated in the epilogue, where he becomes King of All Birds due to his part in the Battle of Five Armies.
261* GiantFlyer: He's a giant eagle large enough to carry people around in his talons with ease.
262* NoNameGiven: This Lord of the Eagles is ''not'' Gwaihir (who features prominently in the sequel), but an earlier holder of the "crown".
263* TalkingAnimal: Unlike most animals in ''The Hobbit'', he can speak Westron, the language used by Bilbo and company.
264%%* WarriorPrince
265
266[[/folder]]
267
268[[folder:Beorn]]
269->"''A very good tale! The best I have heard for a long while. If all beggars could tell such a good one, they might find me kinder.''"[[note]]After he confirms their story is true, he says he likes it even ''better''.[[/note]]\
270
271----
272* AmbiguouslyHuman: Gandalf speculates that Beorn is either a descendant of the bears who lived in the Misty Mountains before the Stone-giants arrived or a descendant of the men who lived in the region before the arrival of foul beings and beasts from the north.[[note]]WordOfGod later said that Beorn was a Man.[[/note]]
273* AntiHero: He's a very dangerous individual and Gandalf warns that meeting him at night, while he's in bear form, would be a ''bad'' idea. He's also not fond of dwarves -- but he also hates goblins more, and will help if talked around in the right way.
274* BackForTheFinale: Shows up late in the Battle of Five Armies to kill Bolg, the Goblin King: only then is the tide turned (even with the Eagles already there).
275* BearsAreBadNews: He can transform into a big black bear. However, he only harms the villains.
276* TheBerserker: It's strongly implied that in bear form he's indiscriminately violent. [[spoiler:Subverted at the climax, when it turns out he's sane enough to retrieve the fallen Thorin in battle]].
277* BigDamnHeroes: Doesn't get much bigger than a giant bear tossing goblins left and right.
278* BigEater: He eats enough honey to need very large beehives.
279* BigFun: If you get on his good side, he's ''extremely'' jolly, such as poking Bilbo in his stomach, asking if the little rabbit (Bilbo) had his fill. Killing the Goblin King is a ''very'' good way to get on his good side.
280* TheBigGuy: He is of immense size and strength for a man. If necessary he can use an even bigger, stronger form.
281* BigOlEyebrows: Because bears are big and hairy.
282* BoisterousBruiser: He's a big laugher and pokes fun at his guests.
283* BruiserWithASoftCenter: He might not like strangers and is a terror for goblins and wargs, but he loves his animal friends dearly and treats them like his children.
284* TheCavalry: At the Battle of Five Armies, [[spoiler:he crushes Bolg and more-or-less singlehandedly saves the day]].
285* DarkIsNotEvil: Sinister and perilous -- not somebody you want to make into an enemy. But not a villain.
286* FoeTossingCharge: This is how he makes his entrance in the FinalBattle.
287* GoodIsNotSoft: Hunts and skins a wolf ''and a goblin'' and then leaves them on display as a warning.
288* JackBauerInterrogationTechnique: Forces information out of a Goblin and a Warg, then kills them.
289* JerkWithAHeartOfGold: Is disdainful of the dwarves at first, but then helps them on their journey by supplying them with provisions and shows up to fight the goblins at the end.
290* MeaningfulName: "Beorn" ("warrior") is an Anglo-Saxon cognate of ''bjørn'', Danish/Norwegian for "bear", which itself is a composite of "bee" and "wolf" (which is where "Beowulf" comes from too). Beorn also has hives with giant bees.
291* MysteriousPast: Gandalf states that no one knows where Beorn came from, but notes that sometimes Beorn will stare at the Misty Mountains and sigh, "Someday I will go back there."
292* OneManArmy: The eagles weren't enough to turn the tide of the battle against the goblin army. Beorn was.
293* OurFounder: By the time of ''Lord of the Rings'', he has a clan, the Beornings.
294* OurWerebeastsAreDifferent: Tolkien drew on Slavic myth, not necessarily the more recent forms of shape-shifter myth. Beorn's ability is under his conscious control, and he retains at least enough human mentality to rescue [[spoiler:Thorin]] after he falls in battle. The power seems to run in his bloodline, since some of the Beornings after his time share the ability.
295* PapaWolf: Gandalf warns the dwarves that his ponies and the rest of his retinue are his children, and while he likes Thorin and company, he still follows the group making sure the borrowed ponies aren't mistreated or kidnapped.
296* PrimalPolymorphs: Either a man who becomes a bear, or a bear who becomes a man. He lives alone, off the land, mostly subsiding on honey while lovingly treating his ponies and other animals like his children. He tolerates visitors but prefers solitude in the wilderness... and when provoked, he's not above shifting to his black bear form and killing anyone who dares to threaten himself or his animal friends.
297* ScheherezadeGambit: Gandalf gets the Company into his house in a two-part gambit. Beorn would have turned them away if they'd all shown up at once, but when they come two at a time while Gandalf tells the story of their adventures, it's easier for him to say "hello, sit down, shut up" than to interrupt the story by chasing them off.
298* ScaryStingingSwarm: Beorn's bees are gigantic, and make Bilbo nervous.
299* ShapeShifter: Known as a "skin-changer" in-universe, Beorn can assume the form of a giant black bear.
300* SkinWalker: Beorn's "skin-swapping" ability to changing into bear and back into human is a rare heroic example.
301* SpeaksFluentAnimal: Keeps animals as his friends, rather than eating them.
302* VoluntaryShapeshifting: Switches from being a man and a giant black bear.
303
304[[/folder]]
305
306[[folder:The Elvenking]]
307->"''Take him away and keep him safe, until he feels inclined to tell the truth, even if he waits a hundred years.''"\
308
309The ruler of the elves of Mirkwood. He is later named Thranduil in ''Literature/TheLordOfTheRings'', where he sends his son Legolas to Rivendell and thence to join the Fellowship of the Ring.
310
311----
312%%* AttentionDeficitOohShiny: Arguably his biggest weakness.
313* AuthorityEqualsAsskicking: He shows up personally on Erebor's doorstep, leading an army to claim what he feels is his share of the gold. It's noted during the Battle of the Five Armies that Bilbo joins up with his army because he seems like the safest bet.
314* BreakTheHaughty: Three-fold, not enough to count as a HumiliationConga but enough to take him down a peg: seeing the destruction of Lake-town, being told about the Arkenstone by Bilbo, and being told about Bilbo's own hidden stay in his cave. It both gives him perspective on the dwarves' own tribulations, and opens the cautious and close-minded king to events happening outside of Mirkwood. When told of the last by Bilbo, he's even able to mix in a ''joke'' with his warnings ("And may your shadow never get shorter, or else stealing would be too easy!")
315* EveryoneCallsHimBarkeep: He's always referred to as "the Elvenking". He only gets a name in ''Literature/TheLordOfTheRings''.
316* TheFairFolk: The king of Mirkwood's fair folk. More fey and mischievous here; the dwarves find them partying in the woods in a way similar to fairy rings and the king himself wearing a crown of flowers. Toned down once leaving Mirkwood, as they have a fair working relationship with Lake-town but don't hesitate to stop and help the survivors of Smaug's attack without asking for much in return even by their own standards.
317* FantasticRacism: Towards dwarves, rooted deeply within the common history of their peoples and further fueled by the actions the dwarves take during their time under his "care".
318* GoodIsNotNice: His pride and caution make him a HeroAntagonist, although later in the book he turns out to be an elf of compassion and principle.
319* {{Greed}}: He sets out to claim the treasure of Smaug, with no intention to share it with others -- like Thorin and the dwarves or the men of Laketown.
320* HeroAntagonist: He's unequivocally on the side of good, what with fighting in the Last Alliance against Sauron and siding with Thorin and Bard against the goblins, but he's also arrogant, greedy, and bigoted toward dwarves, and stands firmly in the way of their quest. He learns his lesson by the end, though.
321* JerkWithAHeartOfGold: He holds the dwarves prisoner, but also provides aid to the people of Laketown after it's destroyed by Smaug. He also may be bigoted towards the dwarves, but when Bilbo hands him over the ''Arkenstone'' to help with parley, his concern with Bilbo's safety is not out of bigotry but out of awe at Bilbo's courage and timing.
322* PetTheDog: Offers to let Bilbo stay with the Elves and Men after he's handed over the Arkenstone, correctly guessing that Bilbo won't be too popular with Thorin once this gets out.
323* ReasonableAuthorityFigure: Ultimately.
324* RoyalsWhoActuallyDoSomething: Initially set out to capture the treasures of Erebor for himself, but turned aside to help the people of Laketown when he learned about the disaster that struck them.
325* ShellShockedVeteran: Became this after witnessing his father and most of his folk die during the Battle of the Last Alliance.
326
327[[/folder]]
328
329[[folder:Bard the Bowman]]
330->"''The dragon is coming or I am a fool!''"\
331
332The captain of Lake-town's archers, he is actually of the lost noble house of Dale.
333
334----
335* AsskickingLeadsToLeadership: He is acclaimed king by many in Lake-town because [[spoiler:he kills Smaug]] and he leads the contingent of Men in the Battle of Five Armies because of this also. But [[spoiler:since Smaug had just destroyed Lake-town]] he still submitted to Lake-town's Master [[spoiler:until it was finally rebuilt]].
336* BadassBystander: Effectively how he is introduced. Smaug is setting Laketown ablaze and everyone is running for their lives. A random man decides to stay and fight, and that man turns out to be Bard the Bowman.
337* BadassNormal: Even the Dwarves are said to use spells (albeit to ward treasure rather than any battle magic). Bard is an ordinary foot soldier with no special powers.
338* TheCassandra: Warns that the Dwarves will bring trouble and that Smaug is coming for them. No one listens.
339* ChekhovsGunman: First appears unnamed, musing about the dwarves' arrival. He is later named and described in more detail.
340* ColdSniper: Bard is quite cool-headed and quite the marksman, though he's not evil.
341* TheCynic: Known throughout Lake-town for his pessimism.
342* DidYouJustPunchOutCthulhu: [[spoiler:Kills Smaug, the last of the great dragons.]]
343* DoomedHometown: Lake-town itself, which is destroyed by Smaug after he awakens.
344* TheDragonslayer: He tries to become this when Smaug attacks Laketown. [[spoiler:And eventually succeeds.]]
345* TheExile: A NobleFugitive whose home city is destroyed.
346* {{Foil}}: To Thorin. Both are heirs to lines of kings displaced by Smaug's rampage and taking over the Lonely Mountain. While Thorin's frequently stuck-up, cares only about himself, and lets his own greed take over him only to come to a last-minute truce during the Battle of the Five Armies, Bard ''appears'' stuck-up but underneath his cynical nature he's quite caring about the whole of Lake-town and easily allies himself with the Elvenking when they're both revealed to be headed up to the Mountain. The locals also show mild distrust of Thorin even before they venture to the Mountain but almost immediately want Bard as the new king and master of Lake-town when the old master does nothing about Smaug's attack.
347* GoodIsNotSoft: Everyone knows him as a cranky bastard; after Smaug, he joins the people camping outside Erebor hoping for some Dwarf treasure. But he's also a fair and just man.
348* HeartIsAnAwesomePower: Bard can speak to birds. [[spoiler:This helps when a thrush overhears Bilbo's explanation of the weak spot in Smaug's armor, then lets Bard know exactly where to shoot when the dragon comes to Lake-town. Smaug's rampage would have been much more devastating and eventually re-trapped the dwarves if Bard didn't have this ability.]]
349* HypercompetentSidekick: Towards the Master of Lake-Town. When the latter flees during Smaug's assault on the town, Bard [[HoldTheLine fights to the last]] [[spoiler:and ultimately kills Smaug. It reaches the point where the town wants to dispose of the Master and make Bard their new leader.]]
350* ImprobableAimingSkills: [[spoiler:He kills Smaug with one shot, through a tiny hole in the armour of gems that had embedded into the dragon's soft underbelly over decades.]]
351* ImpoverishedPatrician: His grandfather was Girion, Lord of Dale. After Smaug's attack, his family was left with nothing and he's a simple bowman by the time we meet him.
352* LaserGuidedKarma: Dishes it out in the end -- when Smaug devastated Dale, devoured its king Girion and plundered its treasures, the king's wife fled with her child to the neighboring town of Esgaroth. Bard is the son of that child, and decades later, he's the one to face off against (and ultimately kill) his grandfather's murderer.
353* MirrorCharacter: To Thorin -- both are kings in exile who wouldn't mind some gold.
354* PerpetualFrowner: Is described as a grim-faced man, with a grim voice.
355* RightfulKingReturns: He reestablishes the kingdom of Dale after the events of ''The Hobbit'', though not before Lake-town is rebuilt and restored to stability.
356* RoyalBlood: Of the line of Girion.
357* SpeaksFluentAnimal: The royal line of Girion has one [[HeartIsAnAwesomePower incredibly lame supernatural ability]]: they understand the speech of birds.
358* SpotlightStealingSquad: Once he appears he appears, Bilbo is pushed to the sidelines, up until Bard actually departs from the story.
359* TheStoic: His grim and gruff nature doesn't allow for a vast repertoire of emotions.
360
361[[/folder]]
362
363[[folder:Roäc the Raven]]
364->"''We would see peace once more among Dwarves and Men and Elves after the long desolation.''"\
365
366----
367* CoolOldGuy: A ''bird'' version.
368* CleverCrows: Ravens are historically pals with Dwarves. Roäc's grandfather was pals with Thorin's granddad, and Roäc's family keep themselves busy acting as messengers between Thorin and Dáin.
369* DarkIsNotEvil: Ravens are, of course, black-feathered carrion birds and thus usually symbols of death. Roäc is considered a respectable and eminent figure. Then again, Thorin makes sure to note that ravens are not crows; the latter are employed by Sauron.
370* TheMentor: He actually ''refrains'' from advising the Dwarves since their decisions are their own, but the Dwarves greatly respect him.
371* TalkingAnimal: He's a talking bird.
372
373[[/folder]]
374
375[[folder:Dáin II Ironfoot]]
376Thorin's cousin (his grandfather Grór is the brother of Thorin's grandfather Thror), who leads an army to Thorin's aid at what becomes the Battle of the Five Armies.
377
378----
379* AuthorityEqualsAsskicking: Lord of the Iron Hills ([[spoiler:and later King under the Mountain]]) and a supreme badass who's a force to be reckoned with.
380* LastStand: He died in the War of the Ring, on the same day the siege of Minas Tirith entered its final phase, defending the corpse of King Brand of Dale -- grandson of the man who freed the Lonely Mountain.
381* HeroOfAnotherStory: There has to be an interesting backstory behind the ruler of the Iron Hills, right? His backstory includes numerous battles there against Easterlings, he fought at Azanbulzibar alongside Thorin Oakenshield, and he eventually died in battle during the War of the Ring.
382* OurDwarvesAreAllTheSame: Dáin -- far more than Thorin and his companions -- is like the prototype for every Dwarven warrior since.
383* ReasonableAuthorityFigure: He admits that all Smaug's victims deserve to be compensated. He and Thorin are clearly very different.
384--> '''Dáin''' ''(to Bilbo):'' Yet even though you were willing to lay aside all your claim, I should wish that the words of Thorin, of which he repented, should not prove true: that we should give you little. I would reward you most richly of all.
385* RightfulKingReturns: As Thorin's closest surviving relative, he inherits the kingship of the Lonely Mountain after Thorin (and Fíli, and Kíli) perished.
386* RoyalBlood: Grandson of Grór, the youngest brother of Thrór II.
387* WarriorPrince: Killed Azog while he was (by Dwarven standards) a young regal teenager.
388* YouKilledMyFather: Decapitated Azog as a boy after the orc slew his father Náin. He may have been as young as Glóin or even younger, but is only said to have been "a stripling" by the dwarves reckoning.
389
390[[/folder]]
391
392[[folder:Thráin II]]
393Thorin's father.
394
395----
396* AuthorityEqualsAsskicking: He fought proudly in the wars of Dwarves and Orcs.
397* ColdBloodedTorture: He was captured by Sauron and tortured mercilessly [[spoiler:in order to make him give up his Ring]].
398* DisappearedDad: To Thorin. He set out to reclaim Lonely Mountain, but -- unbeknownst to Thorin -- was captured by Sauron en route.
399* DoomedHometown: The Lonely Mountain, which was attacked and occupied by Smaug.
400* TheExile: As the Lonely Mountain was claimed by Smaug, he and his people went into exile.
401* EyeScream: He lost one eye in the Battle of Azanulbizar.
402* HandicappedBadass: Despite missing an eye, he remained an effective warrior.
403* MementoMacGuffin: He inherited [[spoiler:the last of the seven Dwarven Rings from his father Thrór before the latter set out to recapture Moria. Sauron took it from him, with torment, in Dol Guldur.]]
404* NobleFugitive: He was always on the run, trying to make a living after the loss of his throne.
405* PosthumousCharacter: He's dead before the story starts.
406* PyrrhicVictory: Thráin won the War of the Dwarves and the Orcs. The Dwarven losses were staggering.
407-->If this is victory, then our hands are too small to hold it.
408* RichesToRags: Once the crown prince of Erebor, he lost his fortune, home and throne to Smaug.
409* TraumaInducedAmnesia: He emerged from his tortures in Dol Guldur bereft of his memory.
410* WarriorPrince: He was already fighting in the frontlines even before Thrór perished.
411
412[[/folder]]
413
414[[folder:Thrór]]
415Father of Thrain II and grandfather of Thorin.
416
417----
418* DoomedHometown: The Lonely Mountain, which was attacked and occupied by Smaug.
419* TheExile: Smaug took his kingdom, so he wanders.
420* FearlessFool: He walked alone into the orc-infested Moria against advice, and was killed for his trouble.
421* MementoMacGuffin: He inherited [[spoiler:the last of the seven Dwarven rings from his father and, before setting out to recapture Moria, gave it to his son Thraín]].
422* NobleFugitive: A king on the run.
423* OffWithHisHead: Azog cut off his head.
424* PosthumousCharacter: He's dead before the books start.
425* RichesToRags: He was once the king of the wealthy and prosperous realm of Erebor, before being reduced to a penniless wanderer by Smaug's attack.
426* ThemeNaming: He had two younger brothers named Frór and Grór.
427%%* WarriorPrince
428
429[[/folder]]
430
431!...And Foes
432
433[[folder:Smaug the Magnificent]]
434[[quoteright:350:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/conversation_with_smaug.jpg]]
435[[caption-width-right:350:Smaug lying on his treasure, as depicted by Tolkien.]]
436->"''Lake-men, some nasty scheme of those miserable tub-trading Lake-men or I'm a lizard. I haven't been down that way for an age and an age; but I will soon alter that!''"\
437
438A dragon in the Third Age, Smaug is the last great dragon left in Middle-Earth, and the main antagonist in ''The Hobbit''. Prior to the events in the story, he lay waste to Dale and captured Erebor, the Lonely Mountain, from the Dwarves. For two hundred years he hoarded Erebor's treasures.
439----
440* AchillesHeel: He's functionally invulnerable to damage outside of a single weak point in his armour.
441* TheAgeless: Tolkien originally wrote that Smaug and dragons generally will live "practically forever" unless killed, and this is what it says in the published book. However, in Tolkien's revisions of ''The Hobbit'' that were never completed, he changed it so that Thorin states dragons are LongLived with a lifespan of 5000 or 1000 years.
442* AllYourBaseAreBelongToUs: He attacked and conquered the Lonely Mountain from the dwarves, driving an entire kingdom's survivors into poverty and exile in the wilds for years while he held the mountain and its treasure as the de facto king. Taking the Lonely Mountain (and the goodies inside) back from him is the Dwarves' motivation in their quest.
443* AttackItsWeakPoint: His otherwise-tough scales are soft on his underside, and to make up for this he's allowed Erebor's treasure to stick to it and form a makeshift waistcoat -- but Bilbo spots a bare patch on the upper-left side where his chest's exposed. Bilbo reports it to the Dwarves and is overheard by a bird who takes the vital information to the one bowman in Esgaroth who could talk to birds.
444* AwakenTheSleepingGiant: By the time Bilbo gets to him, Smaug is just snoozing at the top of his giant pile of treasures and has been doing nothing but that for the past several decades. All his evil deeds are in the past, and it did not seem like he was planning to go out and commit more anytime soon. But Bilbo entering his lair to steal his prized possessions really, ''really'' pisses him off, and the dragon rises to wreak havoc once more.
445* BadassBoast: When Bilbo tries to make a comment that he and the company came for revenge on Smaug for everyone he's killed, he responds with a very lengthy one that practically descends into a speech on how awesome he is.
446-->''"Revenge! Revenge! The King under the Mountain is dead and where are his kin that dare seek revenge? Girion Lord of Dale is dead, and I have eaten his people like a wolf among sheep, and where are his sons' sons that dare approach me? I kill where I wish and none dare resist. I laid low the warriors of old and their like is not in the world today. Then I was but young and tender. Now I am old and strong, strong, strong, Thief in the Shadows! My armor is like tenfold shields. My teeth are like swords. My claws, spears. The shock of my tail, a thunderbolt. My wings, a hurricane. And my breath, death!"''
447* BattleTrophy: His treasure hoard in Erebor including the Arkenstone can be seen as this, especially since [[AllThereInTheManual the Manual]] indicates dragons relish not just in possessing treasure but in the act of ''stripping it from others''. More literally, his hoard includes the weapons and armor of the dwarves as these are themselves valuable. At least some of these were presumably stripped from the corpses of their previous owners.
448* BerserkButton: To put it lightly, it's ''really'' not a good idea to steal from him, no matter how small the theft, or even think about it or even imply that you could possibly think about it at a later date. And it's an absolutely terrible idea to mock him or speak to him with any perceived disrespect with the result usually being getting barbecued.
449* BigBad: He's undeniably big and definitely bad, but he does ''not'' [[SubvertedTrope fulfil the trope]]. While he is the motivation behind the hero's journey, he is not responsible for any of the problems encountered on the way, nor is he aware of the dwarves' intentions until Bilbo rather foolishly ''states it to his face.'' He has (and needs) no minions, and his strategy when he realizes he's dealing with thieves is a straightforward, but hardly brilliant "kill them, then kill anybody who helped them."
450* BigEntrance: His arrival at Dale and the Lonely Mountain was heralded by "a noise like a hurricane" and a hot gale which made pines creak and crack, before he started burning Dale.
451* BlowYouAway: The hot wind which preceded his physical arrival during his BigEntrance (see above). Implied to be WindFromBeneathMyWings specifically.
452* BreakingSpeech: In a sense, his entire conversation with Bilbo is this, but in particular when he spreads doubt in Bilbo's mind about the dwarves and how (or whether) they actually intend to pay him his fourteenth share- there being nothing in the agreement about providing transport or guards for his journey home, and it would take longer than he has to live to even steal it all.
453* BreathWeapon: He can breathe fire, per being a dragon.
454* BrilliantButLazy: He's extremely powerful and intelligent but seems content to just sleep under his enormous pile of money and leave the conquering of Middle Earth to Sauron. Given the damage he does every time he awakens, this is definitely a case of this trope being a positive.
455* CatlikeDragons: In the Creator/RankinBass adaptation, [[http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-d1dtoP3E__8/Uq_nYR36GVI/AAAAAAAAFcE/kmjvpwWQuC4/s1600/original-smaug.jpg he's depicted as very mammalian]], with a distinctly catlike face sporting a short muzzle, prominent triangular ears, bushy cheek fur, and slit-pupiled feline eyes.
456%%* CompellingVoice
457* CompositeCharacter: Tolkien designed him as based on the two iconic dragons of the Norse lore (which he considered [[SeriousBusiness "the only true dragons"]]), Fafnir and the dragon that Literature/{{Beowulf}} killed. The former is the basis of his smug and witty personality, while the latter is the reason he flies, breathes fire, and is nigh-invulnerable.
458* DisproportionateRetribution: His reaction to Bilbo's theft of a single cup. Also a TakeThat from Tolkien against people who are both rich and greedy.
459-->His rage passed description -- the sort of rage that is only seen when rich folk that have more than they can enjoy suddenly lose something that they have long had but never before used or wanted. His fire belched forth, the hall smoked, he shook the mountain...\
460To hunt the whole mountain till he had caught the thief and had torn and trampled him was his one thought.\
461He would not forget or forgive the theft, not if a thousand years turned him to smouldering stone, but he could afford to wait.
462* DoNotTauntCthulhu: When conversing with Smaug (or another dragon), it's strictly considered seriously unwise to speak in a way that'll make him angry and thus provoke him to violence. Bilbo for the most part adheres to this rule during their conversation, but then breaks it at their conversation's end and nearly gets turned to charbroil for it.
463* DontWakeTheSleeper: Because if Bilbo does wake him while he's inside the Lonely Mountain stealing a goblet from the hoard, Smaug will almost certainly kill him and then likely also the dwarves for the theft. Unfortunately, [[spoiler:Smaug wakes up between the end of Bilbo's first trip and his return trip, and notices a thief has stolen a piece of his treasure]]. Avoiding waking Smaug is even a mission in the 2003 video game adaptation.
464* DragonsAreDemonic: An intelligent, charismatic and psychopathic dragon, who can psychically lull and bend an unprepared hero to tell him everything, and whose species are related to the {{Satan}} of Middle-earth.
465* TheDreaded: No-one even went near him for decades after he claimed Erebor. The Dwarfs, even Thorin, are too afraid to enter the Mountain when they know he's there. It's stated that [[spoiler:many of the people defending Lake-Town would've just fled from Smaug without a fight when he attacked, if not for Bard's orders and constant encouragement]].
466* EvilCounterpart: To Thorin. They're both Kings under the Mountain according to their respective selves -- Smaug is TheUsurper to Thorin's RightfulKingReturns. Thorin and Smaug have the same [[FatalFlaw Fatal Flaws]] of {{Pride}}, and {{Greed}} (for the same freaking treasure no less), and both their goals and motivations are pretty self-centred. They also both blockade themselves and their treasure inside the same mountain and wish for others to leave them alone with it or otherwise face DisproportionateRetribution. Furthermore, both take a more active role in the plot in the present time frame for {{revenge}}. Both of them expect others to treat them like nobility... but Thorin is definitely [[BerserkButton more tolerant of not getting this than Smaug is]], whilst Smaug has a [[FauxAffablyEvil lot more charm when he's talking to others than Thorin does]]. Smaug is a formidable OneManArmy and is seemingly alone in the world, whereas Thorin operates with (and often relies on) other dwarves and Bilbo Baggins. Smaug is huge whereas Thorin is a dwarf. Smaug is a GeniusBruiser whereas Thorin makes some bad decisions. Smaug is red and gold, while Thorin wears blue and silver colors. Thorin commands the loyalty of the other Company dwarves to the point [[spoiler:his nephews die defending him]] and he makes a HeelFaceTurn out of his SanitySlippage; Smaug has no such redeeming qualities.
467-->(Actually, this trope can be applied to dwarves and dragons broadly in Middle-Earth.)
468* EvilIsHammy: When drawn into conversation, he's boastful, gloating, and melodramatic. There are plenty of ways he could have called Bilbo's bluff about the dwarfs coming after him for revenge, but he choice to the route of lengthy BadassBoast about how nobody dared to challenge him in decades despite all the enemies he's made and brags about all the ways he can kill.
469* EvilIsPetty: A mild taunt or taking '''ANYTHING''' from him, no matter how insignificant, is enough to provoke him to violence.
470* EvilLaugh: In the book, his laughter is enough to floor Bilbo and shake the mountain.
471* EvilTakesANap: After he conquers the Lonely Mountain, whilst he's left alone with his treasure, he presents no active threat to anyone and spends most of his time hibernating atop his plunder. But once he stirs long enough to recognize a thief has stolen a piece of his treasure, neither the thieves nor Lake-town are safe from Smaug's wrath.
472* EvilVirtues: Ambition (specifically {{Greed}}, for the greatest wealth in Middle-earth), Determination (once awoken, he won't go back to rest while he thinks there's still a chance that people don't fear him enough to not dare coming near his treasure), [[PassionIsEvil Passion]] (see below), Resourcefulness (he's highly cunning), Vigilance (how he guards his treasure), and Wisdom (his attacks are quite tactical with what he prioritizes destroying).
473* FauxAffablyEvil: Despite being a megalomaniac, a murderer and a thief, he enjoys a good conversation, even with his enemies, and compliments Bilbo on his courtesy.
474--> '''Smaug:''' You have nice manners for a thief and a liar.
475* Fiction500: ''Forbes'' has [[http://www.forbes.com/special-report/2012/fictional-15-12/smaug.html done]] [[http://www.forbes.com/sites/michaelnoer/2011/04/06/how-much-is-smaug-tolkei-dragon-worth/ extensive]] [[http://www.forbes.com/sites/michaelnoer/2012/04/23/how-much-is-a-dragon-worth-revisited/ research]] on the question of just how rich he really is. The final official tally has him richer than Bill Gates, but not quite as rich as Carlos Slim Helu. Smaug was once considered to be the wealthiest character in fiction until dethroned by Scrooge [=McDuck=]. [[note]]However, this list specifically excludes sci-fi, where characters frequently own entire planets.[[/note]]
476* GeniusBruiser: He easily deduces the situation from Bilbo's riddling, has memorised every single piece of treasure in his hoard, and the book goes into detail about how crafty he is.
477* GiantEyeOfDoom: Narrowly {{subverted}}. The second time Bilbo approaches Smaug, he catches sight of a ray peeking out from one of Smaug's eyes (indicating that the dragon is now only feigning sleep), and he recoils just in time to avoid being seen.
478* GlowingEyesOfDoom: From the description, it comes close to EyeBeams. ''Literally'' EyeBeams in the animated 1970s movie.
479* {{Greed}}: Smaug, like all dragons is obsessed with treasure, and will hoard as much as he can during his lifetime ([[TheAgeless which is forever unless killed]]), and knows immediately that a small goblet is missing. Yet he [[AllThatGlitters never enjoys a single brass ring of it]].
480* HotBlooded: He'll maintain civility so long as his mood remains placated or at least even during a conversation, but any blemish to his ego will cause him to ''explode'' with rage. He also has a bit of a theatrical flare.
481* HypnoticEyes: Alongside a CompellingVoice. Looking into Smaug's eyes causes Bilbo to fall under the "dragon spell" and feel an immediate urge to spill everything to the dragon.
482* HuntingTheMostDangerousGame: Smaug's one passion beyond his treasure is hunting. If available, people are his favorite quarry. Livestock are a close second, as he can take pleasure in depriving others of them and provoke a possible confrontation.
483* {{Hypocrite}}: Flies into a [[BerserkButton murderous rage]] when he sees something to have been taken from his hoard, and he scornfully refers to the apparent perpetrator as a "thief". Yet, Smaug himself took the hoard from the Dwarves of Erebor, who mined and fashioned every item themselves long ago, and he is currently squatting in the ruins of their kingdom with no intent to return it.
484* KnightOfCerebus: His appearance causes a big case a massive enemy turning the story around. The company is helpless against him, and even after his death, they still have to face the consequences of his rampage.
485* LargeHam: Quite possibly the single hammiest character in Tolkien's works.
486* LastOfHisKind: Smaug is stated to be the last of the Great Dragons of Middle Earth, as opposed to "lesser dragons" such as those of the Withered Heath, which were implied to be much lesser in power than Smaug's kind. Although dragonkind as a whole persisted, the race of the Great Dragons died with Smaug.
487* LazyDragon: Smaug appears to have simply been sitting on his gold for an exceedingly long time, until he is enraged by Bilbo stealing from him and goes on a RoaringRampageOfRevenge.
488* LightIsNotGood: Due to the fire inside him, he radiates light.
489* LivingLieDetector: A mild example. He's so intimidating that conversing at all with him is likely to end up with the person folding and letting the truth come out. Bilbo does a good job at stalling and hiding his exact identity but still spills the beans about Thorin's quest.
490* MacGuffinGuardian: The Arken Stone was among Erebor's many fortunes when Smaug invaded and it's central to The Hobbit's plot.
491* MeaningfulName: His means "to squeeze through a hole" in Old Germanic.
492** "Smug" is also a very appropriate homonym.
493** Not that those two ''are'' homonyms of Smaug's name. The pronunciation guidelines in [[AllThereInTheManual the Appendices to]] ''Literature/TheLordOfTheRings'' make it clear that the vowel sound rhymes with "ow", as in the noise you make when hurt.
494** Said Germanic verb evolved into ''smjúga'' in Old Norse. The past tense of that is ''smaug'', which was pronounced something like "smowg".
495** Just as some of his treasure has been incorporated into his body, [[UsefulNotes/{{Gold}} Au]] is embedded in his name.
496* MysteriousPast: Virtually nothing is known about Smaug's past before he attacked the Lonely Mountain except that he came from the north. It's however likely that he's no more than a few centuries old, since he's explicitly identified multiple times in the book as having been young and not yet fully grown when he attacked Erebor 171 years before his death.
497* OrcusOnHisThrone: Smaug will always be a threat since he's a huge, flying, fire-breathing monster. However, his life's ambition was to win a treasure hoard to sit on and a quiet place to sleep on it, which he accomplished years before. He hasn't been actively terrorizing anybody in decades and as far as we can tell had no plans to do so -- unless someone were to provoke him. (Although in later books is it is noted that he would probably have fought for Sauron in the War of the Ring if not for Bard's well-placed arrow.)
498* OurDragonsAreDifferent: They talk, for one -- Smaug was one of the first Western dragons to be depicted as talkative and intelligent, rather than a ravening beast. Tolkien, who was a fan of Myth/NorseMythology, drew his inspiration for Smaug from [[Literature/PoeticEdda Faf]][[Literature/VolsungaSaga nir]] and [[Literature/{{Beowulf}} the unnamed dragon who fought Beowulf]]. Among Smaug's original characteristics are a fondness for riddles and HypnoticEyes. While animated and live-action movies go for a saurian appearance -- with a wolf head in the former case -- Tolkien made a painting of Smaug himself and depicted him as more narrow and serpentine (Smaug is called a "worm"; the Old English form ''wyrm'' connoted both "snake" and "dragon"), with proportionally small limbs, a tail ending in a fleur-de-lis shape and a hornless, eared, mammalian head. They also don't seem to need to eat or drink, since he doesn't seem to have left the mountain even once in all the decades he's been living there.
499* PassionIsEvil: Has a HairTriggerTemper which makes him extremely volatile.
500* PooledFunds: Smaug just loves to wallow in gold. He has a ''lot'' of it, considering he can burrow in and be completely covered, despite his vast size. InvokedTrope of MoneyFetish; it's ''his'', even though he doesn't spend it.
501* {{Pride}}: And appealing to it is the only thing that saves Bilbo.
502* RedBaron: Aside from "the Golden" above, Bilbo reels off a whole list of titles for Smaug at one point. The most common is "the Magnificent".
503* RedEyesTakeWarning: He's described as having red eyes.
504* ReminiscingAboutYourVictims: He does this quite a bit regarding his past evil accomplishments when boasting to Bilbo.
505* SevenDeadlySins: {{Greed}} is his driving characteristic, having been driven by it to take the Lonely Mountain from the dwarves and hoard all its valuables to himself for life. However, he also exhibits {{Pride}} (an extremely bloated and fragile ego), Envy (he plundered all his valuables from their previous owners and jealously guards them), Wrath (the smallest slight can aggravate him to murder or even genocide), Sloth (once he's amassed his hoard and is content he sleeps his days away atop the hoard for sixty years), Gluttony (he serially ate maidens from Dale until the city was completely abandoned and he also ate the Company's ponies), and Lust (non-sexual: he enjoys wasting time indulging in riddle-talk which is the main reason why he lets Bilbo live for as long as he does).
506* SmugSnake: Despite his cunning and crafty mind, Smaug is absolutely sure of his invincibility, showing off his gem-encrusted armor to Bilbo and never once considers the possibility of the hobbit actually finding [[AchillesHeel a weak spot]] [[FatalFlaw to exploit.]]
507--> '''Bilbo''': Old fool! Why there is a large patch in the hollow of his left breast as bare as a snail out of its shell!
508* SmugSuper: He's very arrogant, but he's has the physical might, [[NighInvulnerability has a nigh-penetrable skin that no weapons pierce]] outside of his one narrow AchillesHeel and enough literal fire power to lay waste to entire kingdoms to back up his ego.
509* StrongerWithAge: Provides the page quote.
510-->I laid low the warriors of old and their like is not in the world today. Then I was but young and tender. Now I am old and strong, strong, strong, Thief in the Shadows!
511* UnknownRival: Although he clearly knows ''in general'' that the dwarfs would like revenge on him and to recover their city and treasure, he isn't aware of any of the events of this particular quest until it shows up right on his doorstep. Even then, he doesn't care about any specific details about the dwarfs; he just figures he'll kill whoever they are and [[MakeAnExampleOfThem anyone who helped them]], then go back to sleep.
512* TheUsurper: Declares himself King Under the Mountain after forcibly evicting the dwarves including the rightful king and his heir from their home, which is what prompts Thrain and later Thorin's intents to take the Lonely Mountain and its treasure back from Smaug.
513* VillainCred: He takes a devious amount of pride in his past acts of destruction and conquest and the infamy they've earned him, and he's considered the greatest dragon of the Third Age.
514* VillainHasAPoint: He deconstructs Thorin's entire quest, pointing out how it would be impossible to steal the gold piece by piece and get down the mountain even without his interference. He also deduces that Bilbo was promised a share of the treasure, but no transportation or guards for it, making it impossible to get it back home.
515[[/folder]]
516
517[[folder:Bert, Tom and William]]
518->'''Bert''': ''Mutton yesterday, mutton today, and blimey, if it don't look like mutton again tomorrer.''
519-> '''William''': ''Poor little blighter! Let him go!''\
520
521A trio of vagabond trolls that the Dwarves run afoul of.
522
523----
524* AerithAndBob: They're the only characters in the novel- and Tolkien's works in general- with modern English names.
525* AffablyEvil: They're quite friendly for monstrous trolls. And, to be fair, Bilbo ''was'' trying to steal from them when they caught him, so it's not entirely ''their'' fault for being upset with him and the company, even if it doesn't excuse them from trying to eat them. William even seems to sympathize with Bilbo and asks Bert to let the "poor little blighter" go.
526* AllTrollsAreDifferent: These are rather traditional, excepting their surprising degree of intelligence and affability.
527* TheCameo: Their petrified forms are stumbled upon by Frodo and company in ''Literature/TheLordOfTheRings''.
528* TheDitz: None of them are particularly bright, being easily fooled by Bilbo and Gandalf.
529* FirstInstallmentWeirdness: All other Tolkien trolls, while just as big and stupid, are decidedly uncomedic and not terribly interested in talking.
530* ImAHumanitarian: They'd eat anything, really, so they're not above eating Men, Elves, Dwarves or Hobbits.
531* PetTheDog: William was willing to let Bilbo go considering that he (William) had already eaten enough for the night and Bilbo wouldn't make much of a meal by himself. He even refers to Bilbo as a "poor little blighter". It is especially notable since it was William's wallet that Bilbo tried to steal and thus he had the most reason to be angry with and want to kill him. It's only after the trolls learn that there are a bunch of dwarves as well that ''could'' make a good meal that he agrees to kill anyone.
532* PsychopathicManchild: Rather childlike in their cruelty.
533* RiddleForTheAges: How in the name of ''Eru Illuvatar'' did three nobody trolls in the middle of nowhere end up with not only Orcrist, a legendary sword in its own right, but ''Glamdring'', the sword of ''King Turgon of Gondolin, one of the greatest elven kings of the First Age''? Even Elrond isn’t sure, only supposing that it went through the hands and hoards of many plunderers and thieves, its true worth and heritage being lost along the way.
534* TakenForGranite: They turn to stone (or rather, ''back'' to stone) when exposed to sunlight -- as the book says, "trolls, as you probably know, must be underground before dawn, or they go back to the stuff of the mountains they are made of, and never move again." Gandalf defeats them this way by tricking them into arguing with each other until the sun comes up.
535* VillainousGlutton: Eating is what they live for and what puts them against the heroes.
536* VillainsOutShopping: Before they're even aware of the company, Bilbo spies them through the brush simply cooking their dinner and [[LikeAnOldMarriedCouple bickering with each other]] over said dinner. This actually becomes relevant later, when Gandalf uses [[VoiceChangeling mimicry]] to trick them into arguing until sunrise.
537* WackyWaysideTribe: They only appear as a brief obstacle. Their primary role in the narrative is to give the company a lead to find their hoard after the encounter itself, from which Bilbo, Gandalf and Thorin retrieve their swords. Had the company never encountered the trolls, Glamdring, Orcrist and Sting would likely still be gathering dust to this day.
538
539[[/folder]]
540
541[[folder:The Great Goblin]]
542-> "''Slash them! Beat them! Bite them! Gnash them! Take them away to dark holes full of snakes, and never let them see the light again!''"\
543
544Leader of the Goblins of Goblin-town beneath the High Pass in the Misty Mountains (and possibly all the Orcs of the Misty Mountains), until he's stabbed to death by Gandalf with Glamdring.
545
546----
547* BerserkButton: When he sees the dwarves' elven swords, he launches himself at Thorin in anger.
548* LargeAndInCharge: He's much larger than the other goblins.
549* EvilOverlord: He's the chief of the goblins of the Misty Mountains. A lesser one compared to Sauron, but still.
550* JerkassHasAPoint: He remains relatively civil until he sees Thorin's sword. While his reaction to that is somewhat over the top, it's not that unreasonable for a goblin to get upset on learning that his uninvited guests brought with them ''Orcrist the Goblin Cleaver''.
551* OrcusOnHisThrone: His goblins are mainly threats to travellers.
552* {{Revenge}}: The Battle of Five Armies is caused in part by the Misty Mountain goblins wanting to [[AvengingTheVillain avenge him]], along with all the spoils for the taking. They stir up other clans of goblins and they all converge on the Lonely Mountain.
553
554[[/folder]]
555
556[[folder:Bolg]]
557A vengeful Orc chieftain who led the Goblins in the Battle of the Five Armies, where he's killed by Beorn.
558
559----
560* BrutishCharacterBrutishWeapon: He carries a mace, apparently forged from a spinal column.
561* EvilOverlord: He leads the goblins of Mt. Gundabad.
562* LargeAndInCharge: He's larger than most other Orcs.
563* PraetorianGuard: Has a bodyguard of similarly large goblins.
564* WeHardlyKnewYou: He's introduced and killed in the same chapter and singled out on the same page he is killed. Other than that, he and his bodyguard are treated as one unit in the battle.
565* {{Revenge}}: His forces join up with the Misty Mountains goblins wanting to avenge their leader, along with all the spoils for the taking, but Bolg also has a prior beef with the dwarves due to them killing his father Azog.
566
567[[/folder]]
568
569[[folder:Azog]]
570-> "''If beggars will not wait at the door, but sneak in to try thieving, that is what we do to them. If any of your people poke their foul beards in here again, they will fare the same. Go and tell them so! But if his family wish to know who is now king here, the name is written on his face. I wrote it! I killed him! I am the master!''"\
571
572Orc-chieftain of Moria and father of Bolg, he started the War of the Dwarves and Orcs when he slew Thrór (grandfather of Thorin II Oakenshield), and later killed Thrór's nephew Náin before perishing at the hands of Náin's son Dáin II Ironfoot.
573
574----
575* ArchEnemy: He is this to Thráin, Thorin and ''all of Durin's Folk'' after Azog killed Thrór, the chief of the clan and Durin's Heir.
576* BrutishCharacterBrutishWeapon: He's first seen smashing his way through tons of Dwarven soldiers at the gates of Moria with a massive bone-bladed mace, [[ScreamingWarrior roaring murderously]] all the way. Azog's fighting style is very brutal and physical, although, seeing as he's also a GeniusBruiser, he's not above [[CombatPragmatist using other weapons to win a fight]].
577* CrypticBackgroundReference: He's only briefly mentioned in the text of ''The Hobbit''. His role is expanded in Appendix A of ''Literature/TheLordOfTheRings''.
578* OffWithHisHead: He was decapitated by Dáin.
579* EvilOverlord: He was king of the goblins of Moria.
580* KarmicDeath: He started a war with the dwarves after beheading Thrór, where he was himself beheaded. Also, he taunted Thrór's companion by throwing a bag of coins at him. Years later, the dwarves put Azog's own head on a pike and stuffed that same bag into his mouth.
581* LargeAndInCharge: He's bigger than his kin and is in charge.
582* LightningBruiser: He's said to have been large and yet quite agile. He may have murdered a defenseless Thrór but also slew the lord Náin in single combat.
583* PosthumousCharacter: We only hear about him after his death.
584* OrcusOnHisThrone: He moved into Moria after the dwarves abandoned it years before.
585* SmugSnake: He arrogantly killed King Thror. Which didn't end well for him when the Dwarves went into a RoaringRampageOfRevenge.
586* TinTyrant: He is described as being clad in full-body armor, even having an iron-clad head.
587
588[[/folder]]
589
590[[folder:Gollum]]
591See his character sheet in ''Characters/TheLordOfTheRings''.
592[[/folder]]
593
594[[folder:Wargs]]
595Wolf-like monsters living around the foothills of the Misty Mountains, the Wargs are allies of the Goblins, often joining them on raids on human towns and in their enmity against the Dwarves.
596
597----
598* HorseOfADifferentColor: The Goblins often use them as mounts, in the same manner that Men or Elves would use horses.
599* SapientSteed: The Goblins ride them when they work together, but they also have their own society and speak their own language.
600* SavageWolves: Like their Goblin allies, Wargs are inherently creatures of evil and enemies to the free peoples of Middle Earth. That said, a line is explicitly drawn between the evil Wargs and normal wolves, which are stated to be regular animals, and thus neither good nor evil.
601* TalkingAnimal: They have their own distinct language, although only Gandalf and the Goblins are known to understand them.
602
603[[/folder]]
604
605[[folder:The Spiders of Mirkwood]]
606->"''You were quite right, the meat's alive and kicking!''"\
607
608Enormous talking spiders who haunt the depths of Mirkwood and prey on passing travelers. They're described in other Legendarium sources as being the progeny of Shelob, and thus descended from the ancient spider-monster Ungoliant, but by the time Bilbo runs into them they're become far smaller and less dangerous than their titanic forebears.
609
610----
611* CastingAShadow: The webs they produce are extremely dark, thanks to being descended from [[Literature/TheSilmarillion Ungoliant]].
612* GiantSpider: They're big ass spiders.
613* GlowingEyesOfDoom: The company sees "glowing eyes, in the dark" watching them, before the spiders reveal themselves.
614* LovecraftLite: A fraction of their ancestry is demonic in nature, due to being the children of Shelob, and thus the grandchildren of [[EldritchAbomination Ungoliant]]. However, the demonic traits they inherited from their mother and grandmother are not as prominent (apart from the abilities to speak and produce webs of darkness), making them less like demigods and more like semi-sentient beasts.
615* SpidersAreScary: They are attempting to kill and eat the dwarves, after all.
616* TalkingAnimal: They can talk just as well as dwarves or hobbits. Justified by the fact that they're the offspring of the half-spider demigoddess [[Literature/TheLordOfTheRings Shelob]], who was in turn the child of the primal creature [[Literature/TheSilmarillion Ungoliant]].
617
618[[/folder]]
619
620[[folder:The Master of Lake-town]]
621->'''People of Lake-town''': ''He may have a good head for business, especially his own business, but he is no good when anything serious happens!''\
622
623The ruler of Lake-town, elected by the people. Akin to a merchant prince, though he's not royalty.
624
625----
626* AdiposeRex: Notably not the "Rex" part officially, but, as ruler of Lake-town, he's still the head honcho and quite rotund.
627* CorruptBureaucrat: Even when he is helping the heroes he is ultimately after his own selfish interests.
628* DirtyCoward: He tries fleeing the city in his guided boat when Smaug attacks Lake-town, despite the cries of his own people in danger.
629* EveryoneCallsHimBarkeep: No name is given for him -- he's either referred to by his title or called "Moneybags" by the people.
630%%* {{Greed}}: His FatalFlaw.
631* HarmlessVillain: He hardly even qualifies as a villain -- mainly, he's a short-sighted politician who ran off when Smaug arrived instead of trying to help the town.
632* HoistByHisOwnPetard: His attempt to run away with the gold of his people leads to his KarmicDeath. But he was succeeded by a better Master.
633* JerkassHasAPoint: While this is done in an attempt to shift blame from his own cowardice, he's not incorrect in claiming that it was the dwarves' poking around that woke up Smaug in the first place.
634* SleazyPolitician: When the people of Lake-town berate him for fleeing the scene too soon when Smaug attacks, he successfully shifts the blame on the dwarves for rousing the dragon in the first place (and he's not half wrong either).
635
636[[/folder]]
637
638[[folder:The Necromancer]]
639A dark presence residing in southern Mirkwood that Gandalf goes to confront. See [[Characters/TheLordOfTheRingsSauron here for his true identity]].
640[[/folder]]
641
642[[folder:Were-worms]]
643A unknown race of creatures which dwell in the Last Desert in the East, as mentioned by Bilbo.
644
645----
646* AmbiguousSituation: They are only mentioned once, by Bilbo and during a BadassBoast. Given the rich folklore of Hobbits, they might be real enemies or just legendary creatures. Similarly, the word ''worm'' doesn't allow to know whether we are talking about dragons (as in the Tolkienian usage of the word, which comes from the Old Engish ''wyrm'', meaning dragon or serpent) or literal worms (as in earthworms).
647* CrypticBackgroundReference: Bilbo speaks of them when he says "Tell me what you want done, and I will try it, if I have to walk from here to the East of East and fight the wild Were-worms in the Last Desert." That's all we will ever know about them.
648* TheGhost: Don't appear in the book, presumably because the characters don't travel east.
649* OurWerebeastsAreDifferent: Possibly, or possibly not. The suffix ''were'' implies shapeshifting such as of werewolves, but then again, Tolkien used the word werewolf to mean bodies of wolves possessed by evil spirits instead of men who changed into wolves.
650* SandWorm: Being dangerous worms living in a desert surely evokes this kind of creature, although it's unknown whether this was what Tolkien meant by them.
651[[/folder]]

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