Orc
Orcs are large green humanoids that arose from the Soul Crisis of Southern Espere. As the generations go on by, a steady stream of orcs break off from the ways of their forefather, but enough remain belligerent that an instinctive caution is common among the peoples that orcs interact with.
Basic Information
Anatomy
Orcs are far bulkier than humans, and their skin takes on a range of green hues.
Orcs grow more teeth than humans, both in terms of what constitutes a mouthful and how many times they can lose and replace them. Orc teeth are slightly sharper than equivalent human teeth, and some near the front are larger. Orcs who manage to keep the same front teeth for a long time eventually find them pushing past the lips, which can be impressive to other orcs depending on profession; a warrior is often at risk of having those teeth knocked out and having to start over, while a farmer's large teeth are less of an accomplishment and may just be pulled out due to the annoyance they can pose.
Genetics and Reproduction
Orcs and humans are compatible, since the former is merely a magical corruption of the latter. Such pairings result in more orcs. After enough generations of filtering unaltered humans into a lineage, the traits that define orcs will theoretically taper off to negligible, but it's not something that occurs on a timescale that people are going to have to worry about.
Growth Rate & Stages
Orcs grow up quicker than humans, physically. An orc nearing the end of its first decade is about as big as it's going to get, barring additional muscle if they want it. Thanks in part to their increased durability compared to humans, an orc's natural lifespan isn't shortened by their quickened maturation. The average age of death for orcs is dragged a ways down by the frequency of violent ends, though.
Additional Information
Social Structure
The traditional family unit for orcs was a cross between a tribe and a militia. Successive generations of orcs, in ever greater proportion, reject the legacy of blood that their progenitor left them, pushing more to the "tribe" end of the scale where the tradition is upheld at all.
Uses, Products & Exploitation
Like all humanoids, orcs can be used as a source of spirit filaments. This is illegal.
Perception and Sensory Capabilities
Orcs are less hindered by the dark than humans are. It's been said that their eyes are strong enough to pull in what little light is available from the environment. It has also been said that the orcs who said that have no idea what they're talking about.
Civilization and Culture
Historical Figures
The man who became the first "orc" was a human named Odard who was struck soulless. His internal well of negative emotions, anger chief among them, churned and broiled without the soul's defense against ambient magical energy. Over time, Odard physically swelled and mentally degraded, until he was a beastly green giant rampaging around Eastern Kythelum. The first children he raised perpetuated the war band that grew around their father even after he was unable to communicate with their siblings directly. Conscientious orcs began to desert this violent roving band even before what used to be Odard was finally killed, but enough of the first generation stuck to the script he'd set to be a persistent problem — and to raise more problems when the time came.
Interspecies Relations and Assumptions
Early orcs earned a reputation for wanton violence, both less strategic and less difficult to provoke than the humans are already regarded as. Humans maintain the edge in warfare, but many of the peoples of Droswal would rather pick a fight with an individual human than with an individual orc.
Fae, including elves and gnomes, consider orcs to be the human equivalent of goblins.
