Half-Orc

Half-orcs result from Orc unions with virtually any human, demihuman, or humanoid race except elves. These mixed breeds tend to favor their orcish parent, though a small number can pass for exceptionally ugly members of the other parent's race. These crossbreeds have the ability to surpass their orcish heritage, rising beyond the limits a normal orc can reach. However, they have difficulty finding a place in either society, as neither culture trusts them fully.
These unions can come across in numerous different ways, from consensual unions of humans and orcs in tribes that come together to form a larger and more powerful horde to the less savory unions of orcs dominating those weaker than them—which accounts for a rather large percentage of the world. The most common half-orcs are human, goblin, or hobgoblin bloodlines mixed with that of orcs. The orcs often see this lead the children to a less lawful bend which makes them less trusting of the children—excluding the hobgoblin heritage—while goblins feel the offspring are too lawful. Humans have trouble trusting the inherently evil nature of the orcs. Hobgoblins often have the best relations with the orcs and the mixed offspring, though do find it troubling when the half-orc seeks to rule over the hobgoblins, as they rarely if ever truly accept him or her as one of their own.

Description

Pulling from their orcish heritage, half-orcs typically bear the skin color of the orc from which they are descended, such as the flabby gray skin of the cavern orcs or the pale green skin of the mountain orcs. They have thick, wiry hair which is course and typically dark in color. Their most striking features are their piggish burning red eyes which truly glow when using their infravision, their upturned noses which other races call snouts, and their vicious looking overgrown canines which are often referred to as tusks. They often inherit some more minor traits from their other half, such as the blue coloration of the nose from a hobgoblin, the oversized eyes of a goblin, or the less sloped forehead of a human.
Full-blooded orcs often treat half-orcs with indifference, as they aren't full orcs themselves, however the leadership skills of hobgoblin- and human-bred half-orcs are envied. Half-orcs generally enjoy pushing full orcs around and are aggressive if they choose to live among them. They have superior abilities granted to them by their non-orc parent, which they tend to flaunt at every opportunity.

Sub-Races

Hobgoblin-Orc hybrids are almost always found in orcish society, as true hobgoblins will use them as cannon-fodder and scouts. A few have found success but most choose to live in orc society where their great size and strength grants them more opportunities and greater rewards. A few form bandit squads on their own, mixing with other half-orcs.
Human-Orc hybrids are by far the most numerous and are the only half-orcs generally allowed to enter cities at all—though most are only allowed on the outskirts of the city at most. Most of these half-orcs live in impoverished urban settings, or form makeshift villages of their own.
Bugbear-Orc hybrids are exceptionally powerful and combine the stealth capabilities of bugbears with the raw power of orcs, creating living siege engines. Among orcs, these hybrids are used as just that, being sent against fortified walls to tear them down or to scale up them, opening up the gates from within. Among bugbears, these hybrids are often treated as leaders, their enormous strength driving them forward in battle and allowing them to take down great foes.
Goblin-Orc hybrids are rather rare, as goblins often die in childbirth with these large children, and it is rare the child survives the endeavor. However, these smaller hybrids are used as spies among the orcs who almost always take the children, being thrown away once they outgrow their usefulness.

Personality

Half-orcs also produce some of the best mercenaries in the lands. Many are morally ambiguous and unafraid to do things which others would find distasteful or terrifying. Half-orcs life fast and die hard; those who die from old age are considered failures, while those who die young in combat are considered to be some of their greatest heroes.

Combat

Half-orcs rarely have the patience or drive required to become mages and almost always lack the drive to specialize in any way as a spellcaster. They aren't resistant or disruptive to its forces as some other races are, but for them it is just too time consuming and time is not something that half-orcs have a lot of. On top of that, half-orc society is dominated by strength—specifically physical strength—and so mages are not something considered to be useful by most.

Society

Half-orcs have incredibly short life-spans on average. The oldest a half-orc has lived that was recorded was 62 years old. They are typically kicked out of their homes at a very young age, causing them to suffer on the streets or in the wilderness. This often causes them even more problems as the incredibly enhanced metabolism of a half-orc causes them to need to eat roughly three times as much as a human of their size and weight. This only begins happening around 4-5 years of age, however, and so half-orc children of humans are often kept until this begins. Half-orcs reach sexual maturity at the age of 11 and are considered to be adults at the age of 13. Most half-orcs start adventuring or becoming productive in some way between the ages of 12 and 15. Upon reaching maturity, half-orcs don't appear to age much at all for many years, but once they begin to, it is very dramatic. Half-orcs never appear middle-aged, but upon reaching about 30 years of age, the aging process seems to kick in viciously, and they very quickly grow old.
Because of their life-style, most half-orcs die well before they even turn 30, and almost all half-orc heroes have died well before they turned 20. Their childhood is tough, almost all of them end up out on the streets, and urban areas where they live are packed tight leading to the spread of disease. There they spend most of their time stealing food, some are picked up by thieves guilds, others are forced into armies, and the majority of them will starve to death before ever reaching maturity. Life is bitter and hard, and a few lucky half-orcs will be taken in by a charitable family or guild, but the majority never have a chance to begin with.
Law within true half-orc villages depends on the alignment of the society which populates it, but always supports vice in some way. The laws are designed to protect their own, many times literally. The most important laws all deal with gambling, paying debt, and of course slavery. A half-orc who runs a brothel is considered a slave-owner who is responsible for the welfare and upkeep of his or her slaves. A few laws here and there protect the slaves, but none of them are fair as far as human or demihuman rights are concerned.
The enforcers of the law are typically brutal, but easily paid off by the highest bidder. Half-orcish society is always run by the golden rule. Those who have the gold make all the rules. This status changes so frequently that it is impossible to keep up, even for the constables whose job it is to enforce the laws. Villages are managed by the wealthy, who keep this status for as long as they have money. Thus, most are operated either by mercenary bands who own the villages or by thieves guildsmen. Steady rulership which lasts only about a decade is considered to be exceptionally stable, and typically rulership over a village is so fast and sporadic that nobody bothers to even pay attention.

Homelands

Because of the locations of half-human, half-orc towns and villages, war is rarely a problem for them. Nobody particularly wants the land and many have been founded on former towns which were abandoned because the resources that fueled it have all dried up. This makes it prime territory for half-orcs who can reap a healthy profit through their tools of vice. Once established, folks from all around come to visit for gambling, drink, drugs, and lack of true law. Even humanoids are welcome, and raids by them rarely happen. The biggest threat to an established town are all from dwarves. While some towns have the manpower to fight, it is far more typical that word will get out that a dwarven raid is going to take place and the town is abandoned for a while. After all, the dwarves aren't there to take land, just the lives of the half-orcs, and they can't do that if there is nobody there to kill.
A town can always go into some kind of martial law in the event that a dwarven raid is not discovered in time to fully prepare. Half-orc fighters are fierce and their methods border on suicidal bravery. Death in battle is preferred to dying of old age, thus even if a majority of the town disappears, the roughest and meanest of the half-orcs will hang around and fight to the very last man, taking as many dwarves as possible out with them. Sometimes they are able to rout the raiding dwarves, and other times they are slaughtered by them. Regardless, in a few weeks the village will be back in business as usual and always celebrate their victory, even if by the number of dead it is evident that they lost.

Culture

There is no respect for the elderly, and chances are that a half-orc who beat the street will become a wealthy man or woman, and then die of old age, destitute and penniless on the very same street he or she beat all those years ago.
To a half-orc, wealth is measured not only in coin but in glory. Half-orcs understand both exceptionally well and are masters at gaining both, however because of the half-orc lifestyle, coin is spent quickly with great abandon; fame and glory are the true desired currencies of half-orcs. The typical half-orc will risk life and limb at a very dangerous but wealthy raid, return and squander the vast fortune he or she had earned in a matter of days, then turn around and do it all over again.

Religion

Many half-orcs are drawn to religion of some sort, whether following under the tyrannical rule of Dhamzukk or following a more peaceful non-orcish deity, they find it a centering point in their otherwise often chaotic lives. Unfortunately for them, many priests treat these half-orc worshippers as heretics regardless save for the orcish priests of their vile religion. Due to this, many half-orcs that would otherwise be a force for good are pushed away and into the dark. Half-orcs have few gods of their own, but the half-orcs that do follow them make it well known they exist as they preach in the streets without restraint.
On the rare cases a half-orc priest is accepted into a brotherhood or sisterhood among other priests, they often find they prosper there, having a single-minded focus that helps them in their worship so long as they are encouraged and helped by their fellow priests. As such, there have been some rays of light for this race among an otherwise black reputation. Many orcs and half-orcs treat these priests of non-orcish deities as heathens or traitors to their race, however.

Civilization and Culture

Interspecies Relations and Assumptions

Dwarves despise half-orcs and will not tolerate a half-orc to live with or around them. Dwarves seem to go out of their way to kill them, and in some dwarven cultures, you must slaughter an orc or half-orc in sinle combat to be considered an adult. Half-orcs tend to share this outlook, either with unrestrained fear of dwarves, or an urgent hatred of them which always leads to violence. Half-orcs born of dwarf stock are not permitted to live, though a few exist and are shown as a cause for more of the racial hatred. Dwarves view their women as treasure, as they are a valuable resource which can not be replaced. Orcs see this as a chink in their armor and have kidnapped dwarven women, forcing them to breed with them. Orcs find dwarven women extremely attractive while the women find orcs to be hideous monsters. Many dwarven women find some way to end their own lives in this case, seeing death a preferable end to being raped by orcs.
Elves are more forgiving than dwarves, probably because there is no threat of interbreeding with them. Most elves greet half-orcs with mere antipathy, generally disliking them, but will eventually accept those half-orcs who aren't evil, and may even form some kind of friendship with those who have proven themselves to be trustworthy and goodly.
Gnomes tend to hate them as much as the dwarves, and if a band of half-orcs is discovered within gnomish territory, they will be driven out. While gnomes typically respect life, this respect commonly does not extend to orcs and half-orcs, who are seen as more of a threat to the world than even full-blooded orcs due to their superior intellect on average. Gnomes face raids at orcish hands, and since they aren't as strong as the dwarves, they must be much more diligent about such things before total war can have a chance to break out, as when such a thing happens, orcs almost always win. Most dealings the orcs have with half-orcs is with those actively leading raiding parties against the gnomes, and it is proper procedure to attack first and assume the worst. Half-orcs of gnomish stock are very rare, and are never welcome within gnomish communities. Gnomish women are not seen as attractive as dwarvish women to the orcs, and so are not captured as often.
Halflings and half-orcs are fairly neutral with each other. Raids do happen, but halfling forgiveness and natural ability to make peace often prevails so long as the spoils aren't too expensive. That said, the warriors of Narvorarum are always vigilant, seeking to cut off the raiding parties before they can reach the halfling settlements. Half-orcs of halfling stock are very rare as the orcs often depend on the halfling's neutral will to have a place safe from ambush when traveling.
Human and half-orc relations are complex at best. While relationships are generally neutral, half-orcs will often seek out human settlements which don't care about appearance as much. Humans allow half-orcs to live on the fringes of society, and rarely if ever allow them to be above the poorest of social classes. However, those half-orcs who can prove themselves valuable to the humans are often elevated as a sign of what a half-orc "should be", being paraded around and sometimes even publicly welcomed by a nobleman as a sign of good will. Of course, this is typically done in an attempt to cow other half-orcs into acting how the humans wish, but occasionally the humans do truly have respect for the half-orc.

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Table of Contents

Game Statistics

Custom System

To Be Made

5th Edition

Ability Score Adjustment. Your Strength and Constitution scores each increase by 2, but your Charisma score is reduced by 2.
If your game does not use negative modifiers, your Strength score instead 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.
Size and Type. Half-Orcs are somewhat larger and bulkier than humans, and they range from 5 to well over 6 feet tall. You are a Medium Humanoid.
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 as if it were bright light, and in darkness as if it were dim light. You can't discern color in darkness, only shades of gray.
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 the weapon's damage dice one additional time and add it to the extra damage of a critical hit (As though it were a Lethal 1 weapon). If the weapon naturally has more than one damage die, such as a greatsword dealing 2d6 damage, you roll all dice again. This does not apply to magical bonuses, such as the extra damage from a flametongue weapon, nor to bonus damage from a weapon, such as the fire damage of a burning torch.
Languages. You can speak, read, and write the common tongue of the area you grew up (such as Cetandari in Cetandar) and orcish. Orcish is a harsh, grating language with hard consonants. It has a very rudimentary script of its own, but it is primarily only a spoken language.

4th Edition

Abilities. +2 Strength, and +2 to your choice of Dexterity or Constitution.
Skills. +2 Endurance, +2 Intimidate.
Size. Medium
Speed. 6 squares
Vision. Low-Light
Languages. Common, Orcish
Traits.

• Furious Assault. You gain the furious assault racial power.
• Half-Orc Resilience. The first time you are bloodied during an encounter, you gain 5 temporary hit points. The temporary hit points increase to 10 at 11th level and to 15 at 21st level.
• Swift Charge. You gain a +2 bonus to speed when charging.

Favored Classes. Rogue, Barbarian, Fighter

3.5th Edition

Size: Medium
Base Speed: Land 30

Strength: +2
Dexterity: +0
Constitution: +0
Intelligence: -2
Wisdom: +0
Charisma: -2

Level Adjustment: +0

Space: 5 feet
Reach: 5 feet

Automatic Languages: Common, Orcish
Bonus Languages: Abyssal, Draconic, Giant, Gnoll, Goblin

2nd Edition

Ability Score Adjustment. The initial ability scores are modified by a +1 to Strength and Constitution, and a -2 penalty to Charisma.

Ability	Minimum	Maximum
Strength	6	18
Dexterity	3	17
Constitution	13	19
Intelligence	3	17
Wisdom	3	16
Charisma	3	12

Class	Maximum
Fighter	101
‎ ‎ ‎Paladin	—
‎ ‎ ‎Ranger	—
‎ ‎ ‎Barbarian	10
Mage	6
‎ ‎ ‎Specialist	—
‎ ‎ ‎Warlock	8
Cleric	41
‎ ‎ ‎Druid	—
‎ ‎ ‎Monk	—
‎ ‎ ‎Shaman	61
Thief	81
‎ ‎ ‎Assassin	81
‎ ‎ ‎Bard	—
Psionicist	—

¹Single-classed characters can rise higher.
Special Advantages. Half-orcs have 60-foot infravision.
Half-orc single classed characters with exceptional ability scores can advance further: Fighter 17th at 21 Strength (20—14th; 19—12th; 18/00—11th). Priests gain one level per point of Wisdom above 9 up to 10th level. Rogues gain one level per point of Dexterity above 9 up to 11th level.
Special Disadvantages. None.
Role-Playing Suggestions. Half-Orcs have an easier time of it as adventurers, for they are usually free of tribal ties. Both heritages reject them, so they must carve their own destiny out of what life throws their way. They often flaunt their superior ability in the presence of full orcs, and tend to associate with humans who do not care about appearances.
Half-orcs tend to be serious and brooding. They seek acceptance and friendship, even though most will have little to do with them. While most of the half-breeds walk the path of neutrality, a few do become lawful good.
Languages. Orcish, goblin, hobgoblin, ogre, common.
Monstrous Traits. Appearance.
Superstitions. Fear of sickness, the weak, the lame, cowards, and sunlight.
Weapon Proficiencies. Battle axe, crossbow, flail, hand axe, spear, any bow, any polearm, any sword.
Nonweapon Proficiencies. Alertness, armorer, blacksmithing, bowyer/fletcher, carpentry, chanting, close-quarter fighting, hunting, intimidation, looting, religion, set snares, spellcraft, tracking, weaponsmithing.

Pathfinder 2nd Edition

Traits: Half-Orc, Humanoid, Orc

One of your parents was an orc, or one or both were half-orcs. You have a green tinge to your skin and other indicators of orc heritage. You gain the orc trait, the half-orc trait, and low-light vision. In addition, you can select orc, half-orc, and human feats whenever you gain an ancestry feat.

Genetic Ancestor(s)

• Goblin
• Hobgoblin
• Human

Lifespan

70 years

Average Height

Male

5'0"-6'10"

Female

4'7'‒6'5"

Average Weight

Male

154-438 pounds

Female

114-398 pounds

Related Organizations

• Church of Heschius Ban

Related Ethnicities

• Cavern Half-Orc
• Forest Half-Orc
• Frostlands Half-Orc
• Mountain Half-Orc
• Plains Half-Orc
• Wastes Half-Orcs