Now goblins are cruel, wicked, and bad-hearted. They make no beautiful things, but they make many clever ones. They can tunnel and mine as well as any but the most skilled dwarves, when they take the trouble, though they are usually untidy and dirty.
- "The Hobbit," Over Hill and Under Hill
Some notes from Chris "NobOrBob" Foster:
Orcs are one of the most recognized enemies from The Lord of the Rings*. As a result, rest assured that you'll not only encounter lots of Orcs in the untamed areas of Middle-earth, but you'll face lots of different types of them.
Where Tolkien has used both the names 'Goblin' and 'Orc' for the race, we've used the terms in the interest of gameplay to represent different types of Orc-kind. 'Orcs' are larger, brawnier creatures, whereas 'Goblins' are smaller, and the sort that might ambush you in dark caverns underground. Here is concept art of a Goblin.
But even among the creatures that are called Orcs, there will be visual variety. In addition to having variety in what weapons they wield and what armor they wear, they will also vary in terms of body shape, as shown in these concept images.
*Bill the Pony excluded. Forget the Balrog, that beast was vicious!
