Quote Originally Posted by Tsotha-lanti View Post
I never got how, say, the orcs of Faerūn are all that inherently evil. Certainly the orcs of the North, for instance, appear no more evil or vile than the human Uthgardt barbarians. Heck, the only reason the orc hordes surge out of the mountains is because they breed so fast that every generation or two, their numbers grow enough that they are unable to support themselves on the mountains (no agriculture or herding to speak of), and have to seek new areas to live in. Unfortunately, not having the knowledge required to actually settle areas, and meeting resistance from those already living in them, they end up fighting, conquering, and pillaging. Even at their worst, they'd be no more evil than the goths and other "barbarians" who sacked Rome. Among themselves, the orcs don't appear crueler or fouler than humans can and often are.
Well, in fairness, orcs do worship a Chaotic Evil god. But yeah, you're right. As much as I like Faerun, its strict adherence to D&D moralty is a pain in the neck.
On a related note: OP uses drow as an example, but orcs are, in fact, a much better one, as they're only "Often" Chaotic Evil, so it's much easier to find a good orc than it is to find an evil elf. Yet noone will bat an eyelash at the latter while the former will be called a Drizzt clone.