how do you treat orcs?

[krossbow]

In your settings, how does your group treat orcs/humans? I know alot of people view half-orcs in there games as being nothing but the product of random rape, but do all groups treat all orcs as insane killers? or do you take a more cosmopolitan view like in things like forgotten realms?

[Zach J.]

In my friend's campaign orcs were once viewed as barbaric savages who were subjugated by elves but they were united under a strong leader by the name of Jung Tak and fought against and defeated the elves. After that they kind of moved out of the country the game is taking place in and keep to themselves. They're a bit like samurai now...or Klingons.

[Touchy]

In your settings, how does your group treat orcs/humans? I know alot of people view half-orcs in there games as being nothing but the product of random rape, but do all groups treat all orcs as insane killers? or do you take a more cosmopolitan view like in things like forgotten realms?

I've never heard of this, sans pathfinder's half-orc page.

[Toliudar]

It really varies. I've played orcs based on a viking, a Storm Trooper, Edward Hyde, an Inuit hunter, Tarzan, a Klingon and a WWE wrestler. They're one of those races that can get interpreted in SO many different ways.

[Geiger Counter]

http://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.ph...csAreDifferent

[TheMadLinguist]

A nice steak dinner tends to work out pretty well, in my experience.

[The Rabbler]

A nice steak dinner tends to work out pretty well, in my experience.

it isn't cannibalism if they're only a little bit human.

[Aron Times]

In Eberron, chances are that the half-orc you're talking to is a member of House Tharashk, and thus richer than you.

[Pluto]

I don't do half-races in my games.

My Orc society looks a lot like Brazil.
Just fewer dream sequences and bigger teeth.

[Thrawn183]

Desperate. Orc's being not the brightest, lose every major war. Due to their high rate of reproduction and being forced onto the worst land, they are always running out of food. This leads them to sending their adults to war to prevent their children from starving to death. This means that they also start most of the wars they are involved with. It is something of a vicious cycle. So less evil than desperate, though often the resulting behavior is the same.

[krossbow]

I've never heard of this, sans pathfinder's half-orc page.

its the whole punchline of http://www.giantitp.com/comics/oots0555.html

[Eldariel]

My Orcs tend to be noble savages of sorts. Definitely barbaric to any civilized folk, but with their own code of honor and justice by which they vehemently abide. And their alignment tends towards Lawful Neutral (though their behavior may appear Lawful Evil to one who doesn't understand them). Of course, I completely ignore alignment restrictions in classes.

Goblins take the Chaotic Neutral demi-humanoid race cake. And no standard race is inherently evil in games I run. Heck, Mind Flayers aren't really evil as much as completely alien. Same goes for most Aberrations; they simply defy our concept of morale and thus simply fall outside it. We can categorize their actions but not their motives. Only actually evil things I tend to run are evil dragons and evil outsiders. Most humanoids are shades of neutral and most alien things are listed as true neutral but really fall under "unaligned".

[Thajocoth]

I had the Orcs and Dwarves both tricked into supporting a 3rd party over a grudge between one another, angering them both against this 3rd party when the trick was exposed, uniting them, ultimately easing old tensions.

[Trekkin]

In most of the groups with which I played, we divided the orc-blooded into two groups:

1. Our Current Big Stupid Fighter(s).
2. XP.

Depending on how easily they could be Dominated or Suggested.

[waterpenguin43]

I've played orcs based on a viking, a Storm Trooper, Edward Hyde, an Inuit hunter, Tarzan, a Klingon and a WWE wrestler. They're one of those races that can get interpreted in SO many different ways.

-Viking (Done it)
-Storm Trooper (Have not)
-Edwards Hyde (Have not)
-Inuit hunter (Have not)
-Tarzan (Done it)
-WWE person (Done it)

Orcs are just humans. Just stronger, dumber humans with more brutality involved. Just about any job that requires more brawn then brains is in Orc territory.

[Yukitsu]

Human kingdoms are jerks in the campaigns I'm in, so my comment IC about them was that "at least they aren't self righteous about their murderous looting and pillaging." Which basically sums up how they're run. Still very much mostly evil, but then again, so's everyone else.

[Starscream]

In my campaign world, orcs once ruled a vast and mighty empire, which fell when the royal family became corrupt and started worshiping demons. The demon worship spread, and Gruumsh got ticked off that so many of his people were ignoring him. He decimated the empire, and the survivors fled and were basically reduced to a tribal nomadic lifestyle.

This was a few centuries ago, and things have settled a bit. Most tribes worship Gruumsh. They tend toward chaos and evil, but also have a sort of "Noble Warrior Race" thing going on, a bit like Warcraft orcs. They'll basically respect anyone who is strong enough to defend themselves, and live in an uneasy peace with the other humanoid races. Although Gruumsh still wants them to conquer and destroy, many fear that possessing an empire (and thus becoming too "civilized") is what led to their downfall, so other than sporadic raiding and brigandry they avoid too many interactions with other societies. In the calmer regions these orcs even have trading relations with other nations, and it is from this contact that most half-orcs emerge. They still despise elves though, and would gladly wipe them out entirely.

The other tribes are those that still worship demons, particularly Orcus (who claims that his name is not a coincidence, and he is the true progenitor of the race and Gruumsh was merely the first orc he created). They behave much more like the orcs of Lord of the Rings, being basically evil monsters. These orcs believe that the other orcs must be exterminated, and that doing so will cause Gruumsh to fall through lack of belief, and bring them and their demon masters back into power. However, due to being pretty bad neighbors everyone hates them and they thrive only in places where nobody else wants to live. They are currently involved in an extended conflict over territory with the Lizardfolk, who are less powerful, but holding their own because they are allied with Black Dragons.

There have been a few wars over the past few centuries, and the fact that the Gruumsh worshiping orcs will immediately ally with the other races (except elves) to defeat the Orcus-worshiping orcs is one of the reasons they manage to get along relatively well.

[CoffeeIncluded]

In my comic? A bit towards the aggressive side (So they've got a higher percentage of melee fighters, particularly barbarians than other races, and their wizards tend to specialize in the Evocation school), but they're not "Often Chaotic Evil" by any means. They live in a fairly good area geographically and have ongoing, if slightly tenuous, trading contacts with the other nations. (Generally, it depends on the tribe.) Politically they live with other stereotypically evil races in a tribal system that some leaders are trying to set up into a loose federation, like the Kyarian city-states on the other side of the continent. However, their situation with Kago has declined very severely over the past several years...

[Doc Roc]

Orcs are okay people, but just like anything else that moves, I try to beat them until the candy comes out.

[Piedmon_Sama]

Well, let me just dig into the old files and post a few things here... >_>

Orcs

Spoiler

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Orcs are the unrecognized black sheep of the “common” races. They are not much fewer than humans in total number, and certainly their population overwhelms Dwarves and all the kindreds of Elves put together. This fact is particularly remarkable, because far from the lush forests of Elves or mineral-rich halls of Dwarves, Orcs inhabit the roughest badlands, marshes and steppes, living off unyielding soil and always facing the threat of starvation save by the intervention of their priests.

In poetry, Orcs are often known as the Moonlight Demons, or the Sons of Twilight, for two reasons: they are nocturnal, with eyes adapted to see well in dim twilight and infravision that activates in pitch darkness. Secondly, because they believe the moon is the unblinking eye of their god, Father Gruumsh, who passes over the world watching and testing all his children.

Orcs should by all rights be running the show. One for one they’re tougher, stronger and badder than humans, especially the more effete and civilized varieties. Their culture emphasizes individuality to an almost absurd degree. Most Orcs live in semi-nomadic tribes, but more than a few live completely alone. They don’t have the same social, herding instincts as humans, but are ingrained almost genetically to trust and rely on their own strength first and foremost. If an Orc can’t do something himself, he will often assume nobody else can. This makes every Orc a ruthlessly hardcore survivalist, but in terms of teamwork and organization they make Elves look like Modrons. Most Orcs will submit to follow someone he personally likes (and they can grow to like individuals, in fact), someone who can thrash him, or someone who has something he wants that he can’t just take. They’re not stupid (well, they’re not Trolls), and they understand 100 Orcs can often do something 1 Orc can’t, like storm a human fortress. But in this sense, they’re more like a band of pirates than a tribe or an army; they elect the toughest or craftiest (or ideally croughiest) individual to be Chief, but beforehand draw up a charter (usually on deerskin written in blood) and swear before Father Gruumsh (the only oath they take seriously) to divide the spoils equally. Sometimes a warband only lasts for a single raid, then everyone goes home; if the venture proves profitable, it might grow into an extended campaign of pillage and plunder, sometimes lasting years, until the Orcs within start families and a new tribe is born.

If this society seems ripe for dysfunction, well, it is. It’s tough to have a civil and public works department when your whole organization changes everytime someone backstabs the Chief. Orcs may not be able to spell coup d’main but they have the concept down to an art. Not only does this not displease Father Gruumsh, he actively encourages his children to compete amongst themselves, everyday, with varying degrees of lethality. Only the nuttiest Orcs would kill someone over a trivial matter, but brawls and contests like arm-wrestling, rock-throwing, power-lifting, racing, swimming, darts, horseshoes (Orcs keep no horses but have a lot of spare horseshoes from raiding human towns), etc. as judged by Gruumsh’s priests make up their legal system.

Gruumsh isn’t a general; he doesn’t care about his Orc children being some well-oiled machine of war like those stuffy Hobgoblins. He demands they be strong; whereas other races see strength as a means to their ends, it’s an end in of itself for Gruumsh. Even if the Orcs ever conquered the fat lands of the humans Gruumsh would probably send a rain of fire down on it just to keep his kids on their toes. Why do Gruumsh’s benighted, bastard children still worship him? It’s less about loving thanks and more about propitiation; Gruumsh gives Clerics the magic they need to help Orc tribes survive in the nastiest parts of the world. He keeps his people lean and sharp, but he keeps them alive. In typical usage, Gruumsh’s name is a curse as much as a benediction; he is their errant father, but they are his loyal if oft-resentful sons.

Orcs are often portrayed as racial supremacists, who despise everything not-Orc so utterly they wish to raze it from the earth. This is a confusion; Orcs don’t naturally think in terms of race, indeed they have no conception of a pan-Orc community. Different tribes and different Orcs will compete with each other as ferociously as they will with other races. However, they are aware that other races don’t often like Orcs very much, and feel barred from entering the more fruitful lands even if they wished to do so peacefully. This breeds resentment, so when Orcs bandy about statements like “Orcs are the strongest in creation!” and “the lesser races will be crushed!” it’s more wounded pride than anything. That said, the condition of tribes varies enormously; one may be roving in deerhide lean-tos and always on the verge of starvation; another might have rich tents and plentiful goods, and actually profit from their human neighbors.

In fact, Orcs will readily work with a wide variety of partners, since they respect strength. Strength is understood to be guile, skill, luck, or more rarely intellect and spellcraft as well as brute strength. It’s a rare Orc warband that won’t accept the aid of Human or Goblin bandits and criminals, if they think they can keep up. Leadership is almost always out of the question, although you get the occasional warband cowed by a human sorcerer or with a chief “advised” by a smooth-tongued rogue.

Orcs don’t see themselves as having any particular racial enemies, as again they don’t think that way. Every individual is a free agent, after all. That said, Gruumsh and Corellon Larathion do have a millennia-old rivalry, it being the Elf-Father that put out his eye. Elves and Dwarves see themselves as engaged in one long, ceaseless war with Orcs and the rapacious Goblinoids, but that’s because they have the perspective of centuries. What seems to Orcs like a disconnected bunch of raids, counter-raids and territorial spats is to the Elder Races a long series of thrusts and feints, intermittently broken by wary truces. Relations with humans vary; sometimes Orc tribes ally with a more savage band of humans, or an independent village or city. Individual Orcs often seek their fortune in human lands, as mercenaries, assassins or more permanent retainers. By human standards they are cantankerous and unreliable, but often brutally effective as hired muscle. Gnomes and Halflings have little to interest Orcs, and are generally not worth raiding; Orcs and Gnomes have completely different senses of humor, which makes one integrating with the other impossible, and Halflings communities have little use for fighters. Ever adaptable, Orcs collect treasure because sometimes bartering with humans is an acceptable (if boring) alternative to raiding. They have no use for cash themselves and internally rely on trading tools and necessities.

Orcs are great egoists, but they are capable of friendship and love. Gruumsh is not such a fool that he would craft his children with an incomplete heart. What humans would call a common-law marriage is the Orc version: Bhupu and Ghorgh enjoy each others’ company, one invites the other into their home, and Bhupu eventually bears him children. Divorce is as simple as one partner packing up and leaving, but if the other makes some great overture like slaying a Wyvern or Dire Moose and bringing its heart before her, the social pressure to reward such a feat is immense. They are egalitarian in terms of gender, because Orc women are still brutally strong in their own right. For a race that has little conception of “fair play,” Orcs tend to be scrupulous about their word, as without it their small communities would quickly disintegrate. They accuse humans of habitual dishonesty as much as humans accuse them of savagery.

It could be said Orcs are a race of impressive individuals that is less than the sum of its parts. They are nonexistent as a military power, but individually dangerous. Diplomatic relations and conquest of their sparse, unwelcoming lands would be equally pointless since tribal leadership changes as soon as someone gains a level on the Chief, and a “conquered” tribe would simply collapse into a bunch of wayward indviduals who leave for wilder parts.

Orcs

-Medium Sized Humanoids with the [Orc] subtype. Orcs are neither goblinoids, nor an offshoot of humanity as so often thought.
-Base Speed 30 feet.
-Stat Adjustments: +4 Str, -2 Int, -2 Wis, -2 Cha. Orcs are massively strong, but slow on the uptake, generally ill-tempered and uncouth, and rash as bulls. 

-DR 4/lethal damage: Orcs are frighteningly resilient against anything less than an axe to the face. They can make forced marches that would incapacitate a human, and endure hotter and colder environments into the danger zones.
-+2 Survival, Intimidate, always class-skills. Any adult Orc will have at least some idea of how to take care of herself in the wilderness, and how to get what she wants by sheer threat rather than namby-pamby cooperation.
-Low Light Vision & Predator Vision: Orcs are most ideally situated by the faint light of stars or the moon, and see double-distance in low or murky light, but when in caves or the most impenetrable forest their “hunter’s vision” kicks in which allows them to see the bright heat of living bodies against the fainter warmth of its surroundings. Bodies not only glow with caloric heat in infravision, they give off an aura of intense color in a radius equal to their space (so a creature that takes up 15 squares of space gives off an aura 15 feet out, making it visible to infravision possibly even if concealed). Heat also lingers in the footprints of creatures for a time, allowing Orcs to follow tracks in complete darkness with a +10 Survival check bonus for 1 hour after the creature has left said tracks.
-Scent: Orcs are allowed to take the scent feat. They have a keen sense of smell, which most hunters develop until it is as good as a wild beast’s.
-Weapon Familiarity: The Orcish double-axe, and Orcish shotput are Martial, not Exotic weapons for Orc characters.
-Light Sensitivity: Creatures of the night, Orcs don't deal well with the light of day. In direct, natural sunlight (as opposed to, say, the filtered light of a forest) or within the effects of a daylight spell, Orcs take a -1 penalty to attack rolls. Most Orcs avoid coming out during the daytime, but those who must often wear visors carved from bone or made from bark pulp, with a narrow slit to see through. This item removes the penalty and can be had for 1 gp or made with a DC 12 craft check.
-ECL: +0.
-Alignment: Often Chaotic Evil, ones that deal frequently with humans are often Chaotic Neutral. A lawful Orc is rather an aberration, no matter how long he lives among humans.
-Starting Languages: Common, Orc. Additional Languages: Abyssal (the tongue of Gruumsh and his divine servants), Infernal, Undercommon, Dwarven, Goblin, Giant, Dwarf, Elf (though they make a hash of it)
-Favored Class: Barbarian.
-Typical classes: Barbarian, Cleric, Fighter, Favored Soul, Ranger, Scout, Rogue, Spirit Shaman, Assassin, Warlock

More trivia:

Spoiler

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Not only does sunlight sting Orc eyes, it quickly burns their skin which ranges from chalk-white to ash-grey with some hints of pea green. To deal with this, Orcs who must go out in sunlight daub or coat their exposed skin with mud. Civilized races are often less than understanding towards this practice.

Orc names are a tricky issue. Their parents are almost completely thoughtless when naming a child at birth ("Fatty" is a common baby name, so is "Curly," "Stumpy," etc.) This is because the child's name is a placeholder. When Orcs reach working age (12 for lads, 10 for the ladettes) they choose their own name. The adolescents often go for "awesome" names like Headstomper, Brick-Wall, Spear-Tusks, Axefist, Blood-Frenzy, etc. Almost always before the age of 20 these names are repudiated and a proper name chosen. Furthermore, after any deed of worth in the eyes of Gruumsh's priesthood, the Orc is granted a surname by the priests. If an Orc continues to win renown, his surname may be changed. (For example, the Orc born as Slim wants to be called Boarjaws as an adolescent, sobers up at age 19 and names himself Coror, and after becoming a Ranger is named Bayneforest by the Priesthood, and after singlehandedly killing a dragon is called Coror Wyrmslayer.) Obviously, this makes any notion of taking a census among Orcs a joke.

[The Vorpal Tribble]

In my campaign orcs and humans were once the same race that both evolved from neanderthals which in turn were the product of an extinct race of sentient giant gorilla people and nymphs.

They then split into two separate races based on which they took as mates until there was a self-sustaining population. Those that preferred the ape mates were tougher but coarser, those that took nymphs were brighter and more adventurous. Thus the nymph tribes first tamed fire. They used it to drive their aggressive cousins away. Thus humans became dominant and the orcs were forced to tough it out in the colder lands.

Orcs are not so much evil as 'the strong survive'. They are a very strong people, but the weak are culled. If they attack humans its because their is still a racial grudge.

However, half-orcs are all together different. The first half-orcs that actually banded together were hunted down by both peoples for a time and had no identity. Basically they had a wise half-orc born who had a vision that the early half-orcs followed and became a race of exuberant thrill-seekers. They aren't violent but merely passionate. Nor primitive but in tune with the world. They challenge existence to throw everything at them so they can mock it when they defeat it. Really crazy but nice folks.

Also, they aren't green but a dark red, almost native american like, if they had the builds of wrestlers.

[OldTrees]

In my campaigns I have only used defeated Orc tribes (forced into desolate wastelands and strong enough raid but not launch invasions)

As such the orc communities have become more reliant on the members and superstitious about letting the tribes strength leave the tribe. Half Orc are rare because it is taboo for orcs to mate with outsiders and outsiders must abandon their lifestyle to join a tribe.

[cattoy]

Their primitive customs will not allow it, the best you can hope for is going dutch.

[JGoldenberg]

In my campaign world, Faroth, the Orcs hold the north part of the continent in an unsteady truce with nearby human countries, I modified them to be intelligent and strong, yet uncharismatic. In Faroth the human and Orc Nations are the most advanced, with the humans utilizing the arcane to improve their countries and Orcs using Science and Mechanics. The Orcs have developed flintlock guns that they guard ferociously from other countries, a non-orc seen with one has a good chance of being intimidated into giving it up, or worse if they resist. They tend to use automatons, different from the Humans Golems, to run things like public transport, the smelting factories, and the like.

They're renowned for their trading caravans, and though they are still very mistrusted by the other races, few beyond the Elves and Levirs (Lion Men) would refuse their wares.


Stats:
[Note that this is a Pathfinder Campaign and the races tend to be stronger than their 3.5 counterparts]
Orc
+2 Str, +2 Int, -2 Cha
+2 Intimidate, +2 Knowledge (Engineering)
Ferocity:
Can continue to fight even past 0 hp. Acts as staggered and loses 1hp/round.
Will still die when you reach -Con Score
Weapon Familiarity (Orc Weapons and Guns)
Languages Orc
Bonus Languages Human Languages, Giant, Gnoll, Gnome, Dwarven, Halfling

[Ormur]

I haven't examined the areas where orcs mostly live in my campaign but them being considered evil is more based on their situation and lifestyle than anything inherent. They invaded the main continent from the north more than a millennia ago and live in a tribal society on marginal land in the north. Historically they've raided elven settlements, human empires and principalities and occasionally some great warlord has united most of them and threatened their survival (one such time had a lot to do with the fall of the old empire that united most of my campaign setting a few hundred years ago).

Because of their lifestyle they regard sedentary populations as squishy trade partners or squishy slaves and victims depending on if it's a good or a bad year. In good years human and orcs may live in peace and harmony on the margins of civilization so half-orcs may as well be the product of a happy relationship, albeit one that's probably frowned upon by most members of the respective races.

Yeah, I'm not very original in that they're a tribal warrior culture that ranges from honourable to raping and pillaging.

[Hurlbut]

it isn't cannibalism if they're only a little bit human.

It's only cannibalism when you eat someone of your own race/species.

[sambo.]

Yeah, I'm not very original in that they're a tribal warrior culture that ranges from honourable to raping and pillaging.

you mean to say there's something dishonourable about raping and pillaging?

that would come as news to some of the knights in the Fourth Crusade....

[Hurlbut]

In my campaign world, Faroth, the Orcs hold the north part of the continent in an unsteady truce with nearby human countries, I modified them to be intelligent and strong, yet uncharismatic. In Faroth the human and Orc Nations are the most advanced, with the humans utilizing the arcane to improve their countries and Orcs using Science and Mechanics. The Orcs have developed flintlock guns that they guard ferociously from other countries, a non-orc seen with one has a good chance of being intimidated into giving it up, or worse if they resist. They tend to use automatons, different from the Humans Golems, to run things like public transport, the smelting factories, and the like.

They're renowned for their trading caravans, and though they are still very mistrusted by the other races, few beyond the Elves and Levirs (Lion Men) would refuse their wares.


Stats:
[Note that this is a Pathfinder Campaign and the races tend to be stronger than their 3.5 counterparts]
Orc
+2 Str, +2 Int, -2 Cha
+2 Intimidate, +2 Knowledge (Engineering)
Ferocity:
Can continue to fight even past 0 hp. Acts as staggered and loses 1hp/round.
Will still die when you reach -Con Score
Weapon Familiarity (Orc Weapons and Guns)
Languages Orc
Bonus Languages Human Languages, Giant, Gnoll, Gnome, Dwarven, Halfling

that's awfully seem stronger than the Bestiary Orc which has a total stat modifier of -2 (where as your version has a modifier of +2).

[Draz74]

In my main campaign setting, Gyzaninar, orcs are the longest-lived of the normal humanoids. They're not particularly bright (nor particularly stupid), but their long lives and memories, as well as strong traditions of literacy, tend to make them the most scholarly culture in the world.

They're the origin of many of the inventions that humans have taken over using, such as cities.

They still tend to be physically brawny, so they still make good warriors -- but many of them are reluctant to risk their many years of life by taking up such a lifestyle.

They are still considered "primitive" by some humans due to their adherence to many tribal or nature-focused traditions.

[Divide by Zero]

It's only cannibalism when you eat someone of your own race/species.

A species is defined by the ability to produce fertile offspring with each other. Half-orcs are fertile, if I'm not mistaken. "Race" and "species" aren't always interchangeable in D&D.