When alliances between humans and orcs are sealed by marriages, half-orcs are born. Some half-orcs rise to become proud chiefs of orc tribes, their human blood giving them an edge over their full-blooded orc rivals. Some venture into the world to prove their worth among humans and other more civilized races. Many of these become adventurers, achieving greatness for their mighty deeds and notoriety for their barbaric customs and savage fury.
Half-orcs were humanoids born of both human and orc ancestry by a multitude of means. Having the combined physical power of their orcish ancestors with the agility of their human ones, half-orcs were formidable individuals. Though they were often shunned in both human and orcish society for different reasons, half-orcs have proven themselves from time to time as worthy heroes and dangerous villains. Their existence implied an interesting back story that most would not like to dwell on.
Half-orcs were, on average, somewhere from 5 feet and 9 inches to 6 feet and 4 inches (1.8 to 1.9 meters) in height and usually weighed around 155 to 225 pounds (70.3 to 102 kilograms). making them a little taller and stronger than humans on average. Most half-orcs had grayish skin, jutting jaws, prominent teeth, a sloping forehead, and coarse body hair, which caused them to stand out from their human brethren, though their canines were noticeably smaller than a full-blooded orc’s tusks. Half-orcs as such appeared bestial to humans, though amongst orcs they were considered human-like physically. Half-orc hair was most often black, though it grayed very quickly with age. In general, half-orcs did not live as long as humans, maturing by their sixteenth year and often dying before their sixtieth.
Half-orcs that have lived amongst orcs have often picked up the common orcish tradition of ritual scarring. Half-orcs with such a background did not look upon scars as marks of shame or as unattractive blemishes, but rather as marks of pride that demonstrate their skill and bravery in battle. On occasion, however, scars were used for a darker purpose, with orcs marking half-orc slaves with scars in the same manner a rancher might brand cattle.
In most cultures, half-orcs suffered prejudice. Within the lands of their human ancestors, half-orcs were commonly seen as savage thugs and looked down upon. As a result, most half-orcs in human society were forced into menial labour or violence for a career. Some chose to take on the life of an adventurer, perhaps merely as another acceptable means to wealth and power or sometimes as a way to throw off the shackles of other people's perceptions.
Within orc society, half-orcs were often looked down upon as weaker and inferior creatures, but overall they tended to fare better. Most orcs grudgingly acknowledged the superiority of the half-orc's intellect as well as their comparable strength. As a result, it was not entirely unusual for a half-orc raised amongst orcs to rise to a position of power within his or her tribe.
RACIAL SKILLS, ABILITIES & FEATURES
- Ability Score Increase. Your Strength score increases by +2, and your Constitution score increases by +1.
- Age. Half-orcs mature a little faster than humans, reaching adulthood around age 14. They age noticeably faster and rarely live longer than 75 years.
- Alignment. Half-orcs inherit a tendency toward chaos from their orc parents and are not strongly inclined toward good. Half-orcs raised among orcs and willing to live out their lives among them are usually evil.
- Size. Half-orcs are somewhat larger and bulkier than humans, and they range from 5 to well over 6 feet tall. Your size is Medium.
- Speed. Your base walking speed is 30 feet.
- Darkvision. Thanks to your orc blood, you have superior vision in dark and dim conditions. You can see in dim light within 60 feet of you as if it were bright light, and in darkness as if it were dim light. You can't discern colour in darkness, only shades of grey.
- Menacing. You gain proficiency in the Intimidation skill.
- Relentless Endurance. When you are reduced to 0 hit points but not killed outright, you can drop to 1 hit point instead. You can't use this feature again until you finish a long rest.
- Savage Attacks. When you score a critical hit with a melee weapon attack, you can roll one of the weapon's damage dice one additional time and add it to the extra damage of the critical hit.
- Languages. You can speak, read, and write Common and Orc. Orc is a harsh, grating language with hard consonants. It has no script of its own but is written in the Dwarvish script.
HEIGHT AND WEIGHT TABLE
| GENDER |
BASE HEIGHT |
HEIGHT MODIFIER |
HEIGHT RANGE |
AVERAGE HEIGHT |
| MALE |
4'10'' |
+(2d10) |
5'0''-6'6'' |
5'9'' |
| FEMALE |
4'10'' |
+(2d10) |
5'0''-6'6'' |
5'9'' |
| GENDER |
BASE WEIGHT |
WEIGHT MODIFIER |
WEIGHT RANGE |
AVERAGE WEIGHT |
| MALE |
140 lbs |
x(2d6) |
144-380 lbs |
217 lbs |
| FEMALE |
140 lbs |
x(2d6) |
144-380 lbs |
217 lbs |
