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sadie
2009-09-18, 11:29 PM
While writing some back story for a campaign I'm planning, the question came up of what colour orc blood is. I'd assumed a dark red, but I'd like to make sure - at least one of my players is likely to question it so I should have an answer ready.

Most of the answers I can find out there seem to relate to Warhammer or WoW, rather than D&D (and seem to contain some very weird ideas, like orcs being fungal in nature rather than mammals).

Since D&D orcs are closely tied to Tolkein's mythos, is there any mention in his books of the colour of their blood?

Gralamin
2009-09-18, 11:32 PM
Tolkein's orcs have black blood (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Orc_(Middle-earth)#The_physical_appearance_of_Orcs). But really, it can be any color you want.

KellKheraptis
2009-09-18, 11:37 PM
Tolkein's orcs have black blood (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Orc_(Middle-earth)#The_physical_appearance_of_Orcs). But really, it can be any color you want.

Or any color the caster with presti. wants it to be if he's quick enough as it spills :smallcool:

Vizzerdrix
2009-09-19, 12:05 AM
Blue, just like every other mammal.

Elfin
2009-09-19, 12:07 AM
I prefer black, myself.

Leon
2009-09-19, 12:12 AM
But really, it can be any color you want.

This.
If you are building the world its free reign for you to choose what ever you want as the colour

Claudius Maximus
2009-09-19, 12:13 AM
Depends on your Orc fluff. If they're the spawn of darkness, black. If they're just another humaniod race, red like every other mammal.

Seffbasilisk
2009-09-19, 12:48 AM
Tolkien had them black, but I normally go with either a green or a red.

ZeroNumerous
2009-09-19, 12:53 AM
Red, like every other mammal.

Though, if you have mystical origins for your orks orcs, then they can be whatever color you like.

Fhaolan
2009-09-19, 01:40 AM
Paisley.




What? :smallcool:

Dhavaer
2009-09-19, 02:44 AM
Tutti-frutti.

Jayngfet
2009-09-19, 02:56 AM
Prismatic, orcs actually bleed rainbows and sunshine. That's why it's so pleasant and good to kill them.

Murdim
2009-09-19, 03:24 AM
Prismatic, orcs actually bleed rainbows and sunshine. That's why it's so pleasant and good to kill them.Why can't I help finding this awesome ? Why ?

SlyGuyMcFly
2009-09-19, 04:29 AM
Why can't I help finding this awesome ? Why ?

My keen intellect and uncanny insight suggest that this may be because it is awesome

Mastikator
2009-09-19, 04:56 AM
I let orcs, goblinoids, ogres, trolls and other "savage" and "evil" races have black blood.

It might make sense to have some kind of fey have glowing prismatic blood.

Leon
2009-09-19, 05:08 AM
Make them a Noble race and have Blue Blood

Yora
2009-09-19, 06:20 AM
I think real black blood always looks strange if you have it shown. I rather go for a really dark red, that looks almost black in bad lighting.

Triaxx
2009-09-19, 06:29 AM
Varies from Orc to Orc. You never know until you cut them open.

Kizara
2009-09-19, 06:36 AM
Green.

It's also good for alien blood. :smallwink:

Sharkman1231
2009-09-19, 06:40 AM
If you want a tiny bit of realism, and I know this is a fantasy setting so it doesn't matter. Hemoglobin is the stuff that carries oxygen in the blood. It is one of the reasons blood is red. If orcs have more muscles, they need more oxygen, so their blood would be darker red. If there was a race of creatures with a lowered CON (let's say elves) their blood could be green, reflecting that instead of hemoglobin (iron-based) they have hemocyanin (copper-based) which is not a good as hemoglobin at carring oxygen hence making them more frail.
Yay, Science in D&D!!!

Galileo
2009-09-19, 07:07 AM
You forgot to mention the cells that carry oxygen in bugbears' blood: haemogoblins.

Morty
2009-09-19, 08:09 AM
In a book I've read, goblins are blue-skinned and have blue blood, while hobgoblins are yellow and have yellow blood. Though orcs have red blood IIRC, it proves that you can do pretty much anything and it won't look weird.

KillianHawkeye
2009-09-19, 08:12 AM
In Star Trek VI, the Klingons had pink blood.

... ...

Just thought I'd mention it. :smallbiggrin:

Yuki Akuma
2009-09-19, 08:20 AM
Pretty sure in the official illustrations, all humanoids have red blood.

BobVosh
2009-09-19, 08:50 AM
Fungus based orcs is warhammer, as you guessed.

Just try to kill a race that explodes into spores after you whack it with an axe. Go on, I got time.

Anyway....your players actually ask what color the blood of their foes are? I'm kinda jealous now...

Matthew
2009-09-19, 08:58 AM
In my campaign, black.

Glass Mouse
2009-09-19, 10:16 AM
If you want a tiny bit of realism, and I know this is a fantasy setting so it doesn't matter. Hemoglobin is the stuff that carries oxygen in the blood. It is one of the reasons blood is red. If orcs have more muscles, they need more oxygen, so their blood would be darker red. If there was a race of creatures with a lowered CON (let's say elves) their blood could be green, reflecting that instead of hemoglobin (iron-based) they have hemocyanin (copper-based) which is not a good as hemoglobin at carring oxygen hence making them more frail.
Yay, Science in D&D!!!

You are awesome! :smalltongue:

Faleldir
2009-09-19, 10:28 AM
Actually, hemocyanin is blue. (Not that it matters unless your players ask you to explain it.)

ashmanonar
2009-09-19, 10:41 AM
Blue, just like every other mammal.

Damnit, and I just bought this Catgirl.

Sharkman1231
2009-09-19, 10:57 AM
Actually, hemocyanin is blue. (Not that it matters unless your players ask you to explain it.)

When you slice up horse-shoe crabs or cuttlefish their blood is blue-green, so I was close. My players would definitly ask me to explain the blood color. I also realised that all the elves in my campain will have green-ish blood because it's such a fun idea. Which then leads me to wondering what color half-elves blood would be, and now I'm going to say PURPLE!!!

Yuki Akuma
2009-09-19, 11:04 AM
I have this sudden urge to make a "Hemogoblin" family of monsters for 4e.

Am I a bad person?

woodenbandman
2009-09-19, 11:05 AM
Well Orcs are humanoids with Iron in their blood just like humans so I'd say some shade of red. Maybe a darker or lighter red than human blood, but a shade of red.

Raging Gene Ray
2009-09-19, 11:08 AM
Damnit, and I just bought this Catgirl.

What color is her blood?

Nerd-o-rama
2009-09-19, 11:10 AM
Pink, like Klingons.

Indon
2009-09-19, 11:16 AM
Considering their frailty, I'd say a very light green.

Oh, there goes another one! Green all over the place.

Leon
2009-09-19, 08:58 PM
I have this sudden urge to make a "Hemogoblin" family of monsters for 4e.

Am I a bad person?

Fav Class: Blood Magnus

dspeyer
2009-09-19, 11:01 PM
Orcs and Elves can both interbreed with humans without magical intervention. Giving them a completely different blood chemistry strains believability.

Ernir
2009-09-20, 01:10 AM
Mine have red blood.

Unless, of course they have somehow risen to the ranks of royalty. Royal people all have blue blood, as anyone with enough ranks in Knowledge: Nob&Roy some sense should know.


Varies from Orc to Orc. You never know until you cut them open.

Oooo. Orc-skittles. :smallbiggrin:

Xenogears
2009-09-20, 01:14 AM
Fungus based orcs is warhammer, as you guessed.

Just try to kill a race that explodes into spores after you whack it with an axe. Go on, I got time.

Anyway....your players actually ask what color the blood of their foes are? I'm kinda jealous now...

Volcanoes. They solve everything. Just drop the whole race into volcanoes. That should do it.

Gan The Grey
2009-09-20, 06:36 AM
Who says they even HAVE blood? HMMMMM?!?!?!?!?!

Maybe they have some sort of strange gaseous concoction flowing through their veins, and everytime one dies, they make the FZZZZZZZZZTTTT!!!! sound of a balloon when pull the valve taut. That would be neat. Especially if you kept a balloon around during orc fights.

DM: Dave, it's your turn. What do you do?
Dave: I take 3 steps forward, and hit the orc with my longsword!
(rolls 19 to hit, 11 damage)
DM: Nice hit! FZZZZZZZZZZZZZTTTT!!!! The orc collapses. Okay, Scott, what...
Dave: Wait, what the hell was that?
DM: (blinks at Dave) What?
Dave: That noise? Was that the sound the orc made when he died?
Scott: Seriously?
DM: Since everyone is so focused on the recently deceased orc, you lose your turns in astonishment, and the other four orcs move in for the kill...(rolls dice) What are your flat-footed AC's?
Dave: Waht...

Mercenary Pen
2009-09-20, 07:00 AM
I have this sudden urge to make a "Hemogoblin" family of monsters for 4e.

Am I a bad person?

Nope, you're not a bad person, but Haemogoblins are obviously vampiric goblinoids. also, I'd had that idea at the back of my mind for months... See if I don't have something up in homebrew within a week or two.

Yuki Akuma
2009-09-20, 08:02 AM
I was imagining them as more goblinoid-shaped animated blood.

Mercenary Pen
2009-09-20, 08:28 AM
I was imagining them as more goblinoid-shaped animated blood.

Also a possibility I suppose. Maybe I can put together a combination of the two ideas... For example, vampiric goblinoids, some of whom can create blood-based animates. The others, who cannot do this, instead have other powers revolving around blood manipulation... So one will cause a target's blood to boil in their veins, another will cause ongoing bleeding and a third might use pools of blood to stick your feet to the floor.

Also, for the record, orcs have fluorescent yellow blood- meaning that once they've been hurt they provide a natural (or supernatural) tracer effect during the hours of darkness...

Mike_G
2009-09-20, 04:35 PM
The color of happiness.

sadie
2009-09-20, 05:19 PM
Orcs and Elves can both interbreed with humans without magical intervention. Giving them a completely different blood chemistry strains believability.

I've gone with this answer as it justifies what I already had planned.


Anyway....your players actually ask what color the blood of their foes are? I'm kinda jealous now...

No, I'm just writing back-story at this point, but you can be sure if I got it wrong they'd make a fuss. Massive plot arcs may pass them by, but the slightest hiccup will get their attention. :smallamused:

Sintanan
2009-09-20, 06:04 PM
In my setting orcs have a dark red blood, and half-orcs have a "just a shade darker" red than a normal human.

Elves, on the other hand are blue-green blood, and half-elves (or aelfborne) have both red blood and blue-green blood that doesn't mix properly (just infuses the acceptance in my setting that elf-human combination are a BAD IDEA... results in an offspring that is naturally crazy).. thank you Dragon for the aelfborne. :smallbiggrin:

ondonaflash
2009-09-20, 06:24 PM
I remember a very fun N64 game called Jet Force Gemini had a cheat that, when used, would cause all the badguys to bleed rainbow blood. It was... prismatically pernicious.

xanaphia
2009-09-20, 11:37 PM
If you want a tiny bit of realism, and I know this is a fantasy setting so it doesn't matter. Hemoglobin is the stuff that carries oxygen in the blood. It is one of the reasons blood is red. If orcs have more muscles, they need more oxygen, so their blood would be darker red. If there was a race of creatures with a lowered CON (let's say elves) their blood could be green, reflecting that instead of hemoglobin (iron-based) they have hemocyanin (copper-based) which is not a good as hemoglobin at carring oxygen hence making them more frail.
Yay, Science in D&D!!!

But the elf green blood suggests completely different genetic lineage, so them looking almost the same makes approximately no sense.

Also, it would make half elves impossible.

taltamir
2009-09-21, 02:51 AM
If you want a tiny bit of realism, and I know this is a fantasy setting so it doesn't matter. Hemoglobin is the stuff that carries oxygen in the blood. It is one of the reasons blood is red. If orcs have more muscles, they need more oxygen, so their blood would be darker red. If there was a race of creatures with a lowered CON (let's say elves) their blood could be green, reflecting that instead of hemoglobin (iron-based) they have hemocyanin (copper-based) which is not a good as hemoglobin at carring oxygen hence making them more frail.
Yay, Science in D&D!!!

although, homocyanin is only found in certain primitive fish and crustacians. All "higher" animals use the superior hemoglobin.

What is cooler than having blood that comes out rich in oxidized iron (aka RUST) from the heart, and comes back rich in carbonic acid / bicarbonate (blue)?
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Carbonic_acid

Although, elves bleeding inferior copper based blood, which is green fits them to a tee... it also helps explain the whole "iron sensitivity" (because you can't be sensitive to iron if it is the key component of your blood". If you REALLY wanna be fancy about it, it can be based on silver. Gold or Roentgenium will not be as suitable as gold doesn't tarnish (oxidize) and roentgenium is not stable at normal gravity. Thy are in the same family as copper, and thus would have SIMILAR but NOT IDENTICAL chemical reactions and MIGHT be able to substitute for it, in theory, maybe. (with a bit of magic?)

The reason copper based blood is green is because it is trasnporting copper oxide, aka tarnished copper (green)... so with silver that would be black blood... :)

Khanderas
2009-09-21, 03:24 AM
Fungus based orcs is warhammer, as you guessed.

Just try to kill a race that explodes into spores after you whack it with an axe. Go on, I got time.

Anyway....your players actually ask what color the blood of their foes are? I'm kinda jealous now...
Fire ?
Everything is better on fire. Especially Orcs.

Yora
2009-09-21, 03:27 AM
Exactly my thought! If you don't want to get in contact with any part of it's body, burn it!!! :smallfurious:

taltamir
2009-09-21, 01:04 PM
Fire ?
Everything is better on fire. Especially Orcs.

bleeding fire is cool... spores though? just cast prestidigitation.

hamishspence
2009-09-21, 01:47 PM
But the elf green blood suggests completely different genetic lineage, so them looking almost the same makes approximately no sense.

Also, it would make half elves impossible.


Same principle applies to Vulcans- and we still get half-vulcans.

Which, I think, was the point of the suggestion.

Yuki Akuma
2009-09-21, 01:53 PM
But the elf green blood suggests completely different genetic lineage, so them looking almost the same makes approximately no sense.

Also, it would make half elves impossible.

Only approximately no sense?

taltamir
2009-09-21, 06:24 PM
technically half-anything (in DND) is impossible by definition. why?
different species are defined as creatures that CAN NOT reproduce to create a viable offspring.

Some very close creatures, like a horse and a donkey, can make a sterile half breed (mule).

If humans and elfs can cross breed then they are:
1. The same species. Aka, different like an asian is different from an african, and can easily cross breed.
2. Will blend completely as soon as they are mixed (seperation by distance is the only way to separate the genes)
3. Will be very similar in traits (they are not, they have wildly varying physical properties, aging, attributes, etc... I mean, they don't even sleep! and live hundreds of years!)

Take mexicans for example... they are a mix of spanish and native americans, which are themselves descendants of asians. There "races" of humanity are in a state of constant flux due to the fact we keep on interbreeding, and only seperate on occasion due to geographical seperation.
In fact even the other homo genus members interbred. New DNA testings find that modern humans have DNA from both cro magnum AND Neanderthal.
it was previously believed that the cro magnum committed genocide against the Neanderthals because we LOOK like cro magnums, and not like Neanderthals; however modern DNA analysis shows otherwise.

Bottom line is... if your elfs and humans can reproduce, then elves ARE humans. Maybe just more "magical"... Which is actually the explanation I use... a long long time ago some humans infused themselves with magic to greatly increase their senses, beauty, magical talent and lifespan. A "good" alternative to the turning into a lich... their descendants are called "elves".

Juhn
2009-09-21, 06:46 PM
I have this sudden urge to make a "Hemogoblin" family of monsters for 4e.

Am I a bad person?

I think somebody needs to get Zeta Kai on this (well, a 3.5e this). He was updating his Elemental Plane of Flesh not long ago, IIRC.

Dixieboy
2009-09-21, 07:42 PM
Volcanoes. They solve everything. Just drop the whole race into volcanoes. That should do it.
Won't work.

Kris Strife
2009-09-21, 08:10 PM
technically half-anything (in DND) is impossible by definition. why?
different species are defined as creatures that CAN NOT reproduce to create a viable offspring.

Half-dragons, draconic creatures, spell scales and chromatic dragonspawn lead me to a new theory: All other species were created by a particularly... eccentric dragon who was tired of scale burn.

Cieyrin
2009-09-21, 09:23 PM
technically half-anything (in DND) is impossible by definition. why?
different species are defined as creatures that CAN NOT reproduce to create a viable offspring.

Some very close creatures, like a horse and a donkey, can make a sterile half breed (mule).

If humans and elfs can cross breed then they are:
1. The same species. Aka, different like an asian is different from an african, and can easily cross breed.
2. Will blend completely as soon as they are mixed (seperation by distance is the only way to separate the genes)
3. Will be very similar in traits (they are not, they have wildly varying physical properties, aging, attributes, etc... I mean, they don't even sleep! and live hundreds of years!)

Take mexicans for example... they are a mix of spanish and native americans, which are themselves descendants of asians. There "races" of humanity are in a state of constant flux due to the fact we keep on interbreeding, and only seperate on occasion due to geographical seperation.
In fact even the other homo genus members interbred. New DNA testings find that modern humans have DNA from both cro magnum AND Neanderthal.
it was previously believed that the cro magnum committed genocide against the Neanderthals because we LOOK like cro magnums, and not like Neanderthals; however modern DNA analysis shows otherwise.

Bottom line is... if your elfs and humans can reproduce, then elves ARE humans. Maybe just more "magical"... Which is actually the explanation I use... a long long time ago some humans infused themselves with magic to greatly increase their senses, beauty, magical talent and lifespan. A "good" alternative to the turning into a lich... their descendants are called "elves".

We'll go with the default explanation: "...a wizard did it." <_<;;

taltamir
2009-09-21, 10:47 PM
We'll go with the default explanation: "...a wizard did it." <_<;;

in which case their blood is made of sunshine and unicorns and magic.
While orcs blood is made of miasma.

Of course, the problem with that is that dispell / anti magic field and disjunction all become deadly.

Besides which, it is expressly explained that they are made via REPRODUCTION. Not magic hybridizing by a wizard.

I have no problems with illithids for example, because they WERE created by magic, explicitly. Same with drow, you can argue that they would turn white, not black, etc etc... but it doesn't matter, it specifically says that it was done via magic.