Throughout The Lord of the Rings, the Fellowship cut down waves of Orcs like a knife cutting through butter. It isn’t until they encounter the Uruk-hai variant that things become slightly more dangerous, but still, there’s little of Sauron’s army which poses any threat. It’s easy to chalk it up to a classic movie trope, as the heroes are usually given convent skills and plot armor, and the villains just so happen to miss every strike. However, the movie depiction isn’t too far from the novels, as there’s a reason why Orcs are so easy to kill.

The Orcs’ weakness is noticeable during the final fight of The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring, as the Uruk-hai ambush Aragorn in huge numbers, only to be knocked aside one by one. Then, as Legolas and Gimli enter the fray, things become even easier for the group. Even Boromir, who eventually succumbed to multiple arrows, held his ground for a long while, despite being separated and outnumbered.

It’s worth remembering that most of the Fellowship were sons of lords and kings, so they possessed far more skill than most in Middle-earth. Their extensive training and impressively-crafted weaponry and armor meant they held an advantage over any foe. However, even as Merry and Pippin get chased through the forest, they throw some stones at the Uruk-hai and knock some out. So, there’s clearly more going on than just skill.

While the Orcs were undoubtedly softened-up for the movies, J.R.R. Tolkien made a point of mentioning how weak they were. Within Tolkien’s Unfinished Tales novel, he wrote about a battle between men and Orcs titled The Disaster of the Gladden Fields. As the Orcs attacked, he noted, “The arrows had been unavailing against the Numenorean armor. The great Men towered above the tallest Orcs, and their swords and spears far outreached the weapons of their enemies.”

Tolkien then writes about the Battles of the Fords of Isen, which took place during The Lord of the Rings. As the men of Rohan attacked the Orcs of Isengard, he wrote, “the Orcs were less avail in such fighting because of their stature… and they were also less skilled in warfare and less well armed.” He then emphasizes the importance of armor, explaining, “The Rohirrim had the advantage in being supplied by the metal-workers of Gondor. In Isengard as yet only the heavy and clumsy mail of the Orcs was made.”

Despite this being just a small group of the Orcs, it’s safe the say the rest faired the same. The conditions of Mordor were far from hospitable, so Orcs were left malnourished and overworked. Sauron also focused on numbers rather than skill, so his forces got churned out by the thousands without any training or suitable gear.

There’s no denying that the Fellowship had some easy fights, especially when they were surrounded by Orcs who chose to attack one at a time. But when it came down to skill, the Orcs never stood a chance. And it’s Sauron’s reliance on numbers rather than expertise that ultimately cost him the war.