Aragorn is a fictional character created by JRR Tolkien in the Central Highlands legends series. He first appeared in The Fellowship of the Ring and went on to play a major role in The Lord of the Rings trilogy. Aragorn was the son of Arathorn II and Gilraen, according to the addendum to The Return of the King. He was named after his ancestor Aragorn I. Aragorn discovered that he was a descendant of Elros Tar-Minyatur, the first king of Nmenor, through his ancestor Elendil. His ancestor Arvedui married Friel, making him Anárion's last descendant.

Tolkien described Aragorn's appearance as thin, black, and tall, with shaggy black hair "spotted with gray", gray eyes, and a stern pale face. Aragorn learned about elves from his childhood with Elrond in Rivendell, and he also had the ability to predict Dnedian's future. Aragorn was a skilled healer, particularly with his use of athelas. He is also a fearsome warrior and an unrivaled leader. Aragorn, Éomer, and Imharil are described as largely unscathed after the battle of Pelennor, despite having fought a great deal.

Legolas appears in J. R. R. Tolkien's The Lord of the Rings. He is a Woodland Realm Sindar Elf and one of the Fellowship's nine members who set out to destroy the One Ring. He is good friends with the dwarf Gimli. Legolas was the son of Thranduil, King of the Northern Mirkwood Woodland Realm, who appeared in The Hobbit as "the Elvenking". Legolas first appears in Rivendell at the Council of Elrond, where he arrived as a messenger from his father to discuss Gollum's escape from their guard. Legolas was chosen to join the Fellowship of the Ring, which was tasked with destroying the One Ring. He accompanied the other members in their travels from Rivendell to Amon Hen, serving as the company's archer.

Legolas had a deep love and appreciation for nature. He wished to return to Fangorn Forest after the Fellowship had left to further explore its wonders. He was generous to his friends, including Gimli the Dwarf, despite the fact that Elves and Dwarves rarely expressed affection for one another in Middle-earth. Legolas possessed the abilities expected of an Elf. He could walk silently on grass and snow, leaving few footprints, allowing him to move freely. His eyesight was superior to that of men, allowing him to see over long distances and in the dark. He could even sleep while walking, which helped him travel 45 leagues with Aragorn and Gimli in less than four days. He tamed unruly horses with only a few words, without needing reins or saddles. Legolas famously used an Elven bow, as well as a long, white knife. He would prefer to pierce his enemies from afar, but his dagger was sometimes used for close combat.

Gandalf appears as a main character in J. R. R. Tolkien's novels The Hobbit and The Lord of the Rings. He is a wizard of the Istari order and the Fellowship of the Ring's leader. Tolkien drew the name "Gandalf" from the Völuspá's Old Norse "Catalogue of Dwarves" (Dvergatal). Gandalf wields great power as a wizard and keeper of one of the Three Rings, but he mostly works by encouraging and persuading. He sets out as Gandalf the Grey, a man of great knowledge who travels constantly. Gandalf is focused on defeating the Dark Lord Sauron by destroying the One Ring. He is linked to fire, and his power ring is Narya, the Ring of Fire. As one of the Maiar, he is an immortal spirit from Valinor, but his physical body can be killed.

Gandalf has been compared to the Norse god Odin in his "Wanderer" guise by both Tolkien and other scholars. Others have described Gandalf as a guide figure who helps the protagonist, similar to the Cumaean Sibyl in Virgil's The Aeneid or Virgil himself in Dante's Inferno. Gandalf was the last of the wizards to appear in Middle-earth, according to Tolkien, and he "seemed the least, less tall than the others, and it looks more aged, grey-haired and grey-clad, and leaning on a staff". Warm and eager was his spirit, for he was the Enemy of Sauron, opposing the fire that devours and wastes with the fire that kindles, and succors in wanhope and distress, but his joy, and his swift wrath, were veiled in garments grey as ash so that only those that knew him well glimpsed the flame that was within. Yet it is said that in the ending of the task for which he came he suffered greatly, and was slain, and being sent back from death for a brief while was clothed then in white, and became a radiant flame.

In J. R. R. Tolkien's Middle-earth legendarium, Gollum is a fictional monster. He first appeared in the 1937 fantasy novel The Hobbit and rose to prominence in its sequel, The Lord of the Rings. Gollum was a River-folk Stoor Hobbit who lived near the Gladden Fields. According to The Lord of the Rings, he was originally known as Sméagol before being corrupted by the One Ring and renamed Gollum due to his habit of making "a horrible swallowing noise in his throat". Sméagol obtained the Ring by assassinating his cousin Déagol, who discovered it in the River Anduin. Gollum was torn throughout the story between his desire for the Ring and his desire to be free of it. Bilbo Baggins found the Ring and took it for his own, and Gollum afterward pursued it for the rest of his life. Gollum finally seized the Ring from Frodo Baggins at the Cracks of Doom in Mount Doom in Mordor, but he fell into the fires of the volcano, where both he and the Ring were destroyed.

Gollum has been described as a psychological shadow figure for Frodo as well as an evil guide in contrast to the good guide, the wizard Gandalf. They have also noted that Gollum is not entirely evil and that he plays a role in the will of Eru Iluvatar, the omnipotent god of Middle-earth, which is required for the Ring's destruction. In The Hobbit, Gollum was introduced as "a small, slimy creature" who lived on a small island in an underground lake at the Misty Mountains' roots. Gollum despises everything Elven made. Gollum's life was extended far beyond that of other members of his clan due to the Ring's influence. An average hobbit's lifespan is over 100 years, but a span of 556 years separates Gollum's finding of the Ring and its destruction, by which time he was almost 600 years old.

Samwise Gamgee is a fictional character in Middle-earth created by J. R. R. Tolkien. Samwise, a hobbit, is the main supporting character in The Lord of the Rings, serving as Frodo Baggins' sidekick. Sam is a member of the Fellowship of the Ring, a group of nine people tasked with destroying the One Ring in order to prevent the Dark Lord Sauron from destroying the world. Frodo's gardener was Sam. He became involved in Frodo's adventure after overhearing a private conversation between Frodo and the wizard Gandalf. Sam was Frodo's steadfast companion and servant, portrayed as both physically strong for his size and emotionally strong, often pushing Frodo through difficult parts of the journey and at times carrying Frodo when he was too weak to go on. Sam served as Ring-bearer for a short time when Frodo was captured. Following the War of the Ring, Sam returned to the Shire and his role as a gardener, helping to replant the trees which had been destroyed while he was away. He was elected Mayor of the Shire for seven consecutive terms.

Samwise Gamgee's bravery and loyalty on his journey with Frodo exemplify the kind of spirit praised by Tolkien in his essays on the Old English poem "The Battle of Maldon". Many people consider Sam Gamgee to be the "true hero" of The Lord of the Rings. Tolkien himself stated this in one of his letters, referring to Sam as the "chief hero", emphasizing his "rustic love" for Rosie. Without Sam, who repeatedly saves Frodo from danger, the quest to destroy the Ring would have failed. Sam uses a short Barrow-blade for melee combat in books, movies, and video games, but for a time after Frodo was attacked by Shelob and sent to the Tower of Cirith Ungol, Sam used Frodo's sword Sting to rescue him. Sam uses his frying pan in Balin's Tomb as a weapon alongside his Barrow-blade. Sam can use rocks to hit opponents from a distance.

Gimli is a fictional character in Tolkien's Middle-earth who appears in The Lord of the Rings. He is the son of Glóin, a dwarf warrior who served in Thorin's company in Tolkien's earlier book The Hobbit. Gimli is chosen to represent the Dwarves in the Fellowship of the Ring. As such, he is one of the novel's main characters. Throughout the adventure, Gimli assists the Ring-bearer Frodo Baggins, takes part in the War of the Ring, and becomes close friends with Legolas, overcoming an ancient Dwarven-Elven enmity.

Gimli possessed the brawn and stamina typical of his race as a Dwarf. He was said to be able to carry the weight of his armor like it was nothing, and he ran 45 leagues in less than four days with only a few hours of sleep with Aragorn and Legolas. He was unquestionably a powerful warrior and skilled axe wielder who had survived numerous encounters with Sauron's forces. Gimli, like most Dwarves, preferred the axe and carried several variations of the weapon with him on his travels. At the beginning of his journey, Gimil was already equipped with a long-handled axe which doubled as a walking stick, to ease the strain of long walks through the vast grasslands of Middle-earth, a value to the heavily clad Dwarf.

Frodo Baggins is a fictional character created by J. R. R. Tolkien and one of the main characters in The Lord of the Rings. Frodo is a Shire hobbit who inherits the One Ring from his cousin, Bilbo Baggins, and sets out on the quest to destroy it in the fires of Mount Doom in Mordor. Throughout the quest, Frodo is repeatedly wounded, and the Ring becomes increasingly burdensome as it approaches Mordor. He evolves, and becomes more understanding and compassionate while avoiding violence. Frodo's name is derived from the Old English name Fróda, which means "wise through experience".

He was a shy, young hobbit with thick, curly brown hair like most hobbits and lighter-than-average skin due to his Fallohide ancestry through his Brandybuck mother. His interest in the outside world, as well as his fascination with Elves and distant places, did not fit the general content personality of most Hobbits. He was compassionate and kind, pitying Gollum and allowing him to guide him and Sam to Mordor despite Sam's mistrust of the creature.

Peregrin Took and Merry Brandybuck are fictional characters from the fantasy novel The Lord of the Rings by J. R. R. Tolkien. Pippin and Merry are introduced as young Shire hobbits who become entangled in their friend Frodo Baggins' quest to destroy the One Ring. Pippin and Merry are separated from the rest of the group when the Fellowship is broken, and they spend much of The Two Towers with their own storyline. Pippin, impatient and inquisitive, enlist in the army of Gondor and fights in the Battle of the Morannon. He returns home with the other hobbits, assists in the Scouring of the Shire, and becomes Thain, or hereditary leader of the land.

Commentators have noted that Merry and Pippin's actions help to illuminate the characters of the good and bad Germanic lords Théoden of Rohan and Denethor of Gondor, while their simple humor serves as a foil for the higher romance involving kings and the heroic Aragorn. They have an amazing bromance that lasts throughout the franchise, and while they do end up on separate journeys at times, they always end up back together. They're both funny, especially when they're together, but they can also be emotional, open, and honest. While they might be small in size, they will fight against anybody that gets in their way, overcoming every obstacle they find which makes them such great characters. Pippin and Merry used a sword of Westernesse.

Éowyn was a Rohan shieldmaiden, the daughter of Éomund and Théodwyn, Éomer's younger sister, and King Théoden's niece. She married Faramir after the War of the Ring and had one son with him, Elboron. In Anglo-Saxon, Éowyn means "horse lover". Éowyn's title was "Lady of Rohan", or "The White Lady of Rohan" due to her fair skin. She also went by the alias "Dernhelm" when riding with Rohan's army to Gondor, and "Lady of the Shield-arm" after being wounded by the Witch-king in the Pelennor Fields. She was known as the Lady of Ithilien and Lady of Emyn Arnen after her marriage to Faramir.

Éowyn is a fearless woman with a noble and truthful heart. King Theoden frequently assigned her to lead the people of Edoras when the men had to go to war; this was an important task, but it did not satisfy Éowyn because she preferred to go to war to fight alongside his brother and the king. Éowyn disguised herself to fight in the Battle of the Pelennor Fields, where she defeated the Sorcerer King of Angmar in an extremely glorious feat.

Saruman is a fictional character from the fantasy novel The Lord of the Rings by J. R. R. Tolkien. He is the leader of the Istari, a group of wizards sent to Middle-earth in human form by the godlike Valar to challenge Sauron, the novel's main antagonist, but he eventually craves Sauron's power and attempts to take over Middle-earth by force from his base at Isengard. His schemes are prominently featured in the second volume, The Two Towers, and at the conclusion of the third volume, The Return of the King. Saruman is one of several characters in the book who demonstrate the corruption of power; his desire for knowledge and order leads to his downfall, and he rejects the opportunity for redemption when it is offered. The name Saruman means "man of skill or cunning" in the Mercian dialect of Anglo-Saxon.

Saruman was described by Tolkien as having a long face and a high forehead, deep darkling eyes, white hair, and a beard, but strands of black still showed around his lips and ears at the time of The Lord of the Rings. He was skilled in magic, with one spell granting speed and strength to the Orcs who had kidnapped Merry and Pippin while impeding Aragorn, Legolas, and Gimli. Saruman's most powerful ability, by far, is speech. He appears to have the ability to subdue all but the most powerful minds simply by speaking to them.