Talion is the player controlled protagonist of Middle-earth: Shadow of Mordor. He is a loyal Ranger of Gondor, and has spent his entire adult life as a Ranger stationed at the Black Gate.

Everything changes when the Black Gate is attacked by the Captains of the Black Hand. At the moment of his death, Talion is possessed by the immensely powerful Wraith, saving his life, but also putting upon him a great burden.

Sauron, also known as the Dark Lord of Mordor, is a character in Middle-earth: Shadow of Mordor. He was Melkor's most powerful lieutenant, and the forger of the One Ring. He was known as Mairon the Admirable during the First Age of Middle-Earth. He later followed the Dark Lord Morgoth and became his lieutenant in his struggle for dominion over the race of Elves and Men in Beleriand. After his master's fall, he hid himself from the will of the Valar. After joining his new master in Middle-earth, Sauron proved to be a devoted and capable servant: "While Morgoth still stood, Sauron did not seek his own supremacy, but worked and schemed for another, desiring the triumph of Melkor whom in the beginning he had adored."

After hiding and lying dormant for 500 years, Sauron started to reveal himself during the Second Age. By the year of SA 1000 he had grown powerful enough to establish himself in Mordor in eastern Middle-earth, where he started building the Dark Tower of Barad-dûr close to Mount Doom. Sauron began assembling armies of Uruks, Trolls and other creatures, and started to corrupt the hearts of Men, giving them delusions of wealth and power. In the Second Age, Sauron took on a fair form and used it under the alias "Annatar" to deceive the Elves into creating the Rings of Power.

Sauron commanded great armies during this Era, and Sauron became known as the Dark Lord of Mordor, and his fortress was completed. He managed to conquer most of Middle-earth during the War of the Elves and Sauron. Sauron was finally defeated in SA 1700, with Isildur cutting Sauron's fingers separating him from the ring and causing his fall. But he was not vanquished for the One Ring was not destroyed. He retreated into Mordor where he started recovering his strength.

In TA 1000, Sauron grew more powerful and started to rise again, taking the stronghold Dol Goldur in the forest of Mirkwood. He disguised himself as the Necromancer, a dark sorcerer. The Maiar Gandalf entered the fortress to investigate the dark presence, after which Sauron fled east to hide his identity. After entering Dol Guldur for a second time in TA 2850, the wizard confirmed that the Necromancer was indeed Sauron. The White Council assembled and permanently drove Sauron from Dol Guldur in TA 2941. He returned to Mordor once again, where he announced his presence in TA 2941, where he started preparing himself against a final war against the free people of Middle-earth.

The Wraith is a character in Middle-earth: Shadow of Mordor. At the start of the game, the Wraith possesses Talion's body, saving his life, but also putting upon Talion a great burden. Even so, Talion and the Wraith are entirely separate entities inside the same body. The Wraith is an individual and has motives of his own, but cooperates with Talion on his journey against Sauron for unknown reasons.

The Wraith grants Talion supernatural abilities through entry into the Wraith World. These abilities allow Talion to dominate his enemies through the exploitation of their weak minds, and also perform other supernatural feats of a similar nature.

Gollum is a character in Middle-earth: Shadow of Mordor. The game's protagonist Talion meets Gollum on his journey into Mordor. Gollum was initially known as Sméagol when he was a Stoor (also known as the River folk). He lived an unnaturally long life due to possession of the One Ring. As a result, he was about 589 years old at the time of his death during the destruction of the One Ring. However, his features were distorted and his mind corrupted by it. He would constantly face conflicts within his own mind and expressed deep desire for the Ring. Hence, many who knew his story did not know whether to pity him or to detest him. In the Hobbit he was described as "a small, slimy creature" who lived on an island at the centre of a lake at the roots of the Misty Mountains. He survived on cave fish, which he caught from his small boat, and small goblins who strayed too far from the stronghold of the Great Goblin.

He spent the early years of his life with his extended family under the matriarch, his grandmother. On Sméagol's birthday, he and his relative Déagol went fishing in the Gladden Fields north of Lothlorien. There, Déagol found the ring after being pulled into the water by a fish. Smeagol immediately fell under the Ring's spell and demanded it as a birthday present, strangling Déagol when the latter refused to hand over the ring. Sméagol used the Ring for stealing from, spying on and antagonizing his friends and relatives, who nicknamed him "Gollum" and banished him. Under the influence of the Ring, he retreated to a deep cave in the Misty Mountains. The Ring's malignant influence twisted his body and mind, and prolonged his life well beyond its natural limits.

Gollum left his cave in pursuit of Bilbo a few years after losing the Ring, but the trail was cold. He made his way to the edge of Mordor, where he met the monstrous spider Shelob and became her spy, worshiping her and bringing her food.