Orcs

Along with their brute strength and comparatively low intellect, the primary difference between orcs and the civilized humanoids is their attitude. As a culture, orcs are violent and aggressive, with the strongest ruling the rest through fear and brutality. They take what they want by force, and think nothing of slaughtering or enslaving entire villages when they can get away with it. They have little time for niceties or details, and their camps and villages tend to be filthy, ramshackle affairs filled with drunken brawls, pit fights, and other sadistic entertainment. Lacking the patience for farming and only able to shepherd the most robust and self-sufficient animals, orcs almost always find it easier to take what someone else has built than to create things themselves. They are arrogant and quick to anger when challenged, but only worry about honor so far as it directly benefits them to do so.

Physical Description: An adult male orc is roughly 6 feet tall and 210 pounds. Orcs and humans interbreed frequently, though this is almost always the result of raids and slave-taking rather than consensual unions. Many orc tribes purposefully breed for half-orcs and raise them as their own, as the smarter progeny make excellent strategists and leaders for their tribes.

Orc Racial Traits

  • +4 Strength, –2 Intelligence, –2 Wisdom, –2 Charisma: Orcs are brutal and savage.
  • Medium: Orcs are Medium creatures and have no bonuses or penalties due to their size.
  • Normal Speed: Orcs have a base speed of 30 feet.
  • Darkvision: Orcs can see in the dark up to 60 feet.
  • Ferocity: An orc remains conscious and can continue fighting even if its hit point total is below 0. The orc is still staggered and loses 1 hit point each round. A orc still dies when its hit point total reaches a negative amount equal to its Constitution score.
  • Light Sensitivity: Orcs are dazzled in areas of bright sunlight or within the radius of a daylight spell.
  • Weapon Familiarity: Orcs are always proficient with greataxes and falchions, and treat any weapon with the word “orc” in its name as a martial weapon.
  • Languages: Orcs begin play speaking Common and Orc. Orcs with high Intelligence scores can choose from among the following bonus languages: Dwarven, Giant, Gnoll, Goblin, Undercommon and all Regional Languages. If appropriate, orc characters may select a Regional Language in place of Orc as their native language.
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