Half-Orc

Whether united under the leadership of a mighty warlock or having fought to a standstill after years of conflict, orc and human communities, sometimes form alliances. When these alliances are sealed by marriages, half-orcs are born. Some half-orcs rise to become proud leaders of orc communities. Some venture into the world to prove their worth. Many of these become adventurers, achieving greatness for their mighty deeds.
Scarred and Strong Half-orcs exhibit a blend of orcish and human characteristics, and their appearance varies widely. Grayish skin tones and prominent teeth are the most common shared elements among these folk.
Orcs regard battle scars as tokens of pride and ornamental scars as things of beauty. Other scars, though, mark an orc or half-orc as a former prisoner or a disgraced exile. Any half-orc who has lived among or near orcs has scars, whether they are marks of humiliation or of pride, recounting their past exploits and injuries.
The Mark of Gruumsh The one-eyed god Gruumsh—lord of war and fury—created the first orcs, and even those orcs who turn away from his worship carry his blessings of might and endurance. The same is true of half-orcs. Some half-orcs hear the whispers of Gruumsh in their dreams, calling them to unleash the rage that simmers within them. Others feel Gruumsh’s exultation when they join in melee combat — and either exult along with him or shiver with fear and loathing.
Beyond the rage of Gruumsh, half-orcs feel emotion powerfully. Rage doesn’t just quicken their pulse, it makes their bodies burn. An insult stings like acid, and sadness saps their strength. But they laugh loudly and heartily, and simple pleasures — feasting, drinking, wrestling, drumming, and wild dancing — fill their hearts with joy. They tend to be short-tempered and sometimes sullen, more inclined to action than contemplation and to fighting than arguing. And when their hearts swell with love, they leap to perform acts of great kindness and compassion.
Half-Orc Names Half-orcs usually have names appropriate to the culture in which they were raised. A half-orc who wants to fit in among humans might trade an orc name for a human name. Some half-orcs with human names decide to adopt a guttural orc name because they think it makes them more intimidating.
Male Orc Names: Dench, Feng, Gell, Henk, Holg, Imsh, Keth, Krusk, Mhurren, Ront, Shump, Thokk
Female Orc Names: Baggi, Emen, Engong, Kansif, Myev, Neega, Ovak, Ownka, Shautha, Sutha, Vola, Volen, Yevelda
Half-Orc Traits Your half-orc character has certain traits deriving from your orc ancestry. 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.
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 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 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.
Mark of Finding Half-Orc My ancestors used their gift to track beasts in the swamps. I use mine to find fugitives in the slums of Sharn. I’m still a hunter. I always find my mark.
— Hondar’Aashta, Tharashk bounty hunter
The Mark of Finding sharpens the senses, guiding the hunter to prey. Alone among the dragonmarks, the Mark of Finding is carried by two races: humans and half-orcs. It first appeared in the Shadow Marches, where clan hunters used it to find their prey.
House Tharashk Leader: The Triumvirate (Maagrim Torrn, Khandar’aashta, and Daric Velderan)
Headquarters: Zarash’ak, Shadow Marches
House Tharashk traditionally licenses inquisitives and bounty hunters. Recently the house’s Finder’s Guild has expanded into dragonshard prospecting. As dragon­shards are the lifeblood of the magical economy, the house’s talent has given them new wealth and influence.
Tharashk is the youngest of the dragonmarked houses and hasn’t embraced all the customs of the others. The distinct clans that united to form the house remain important, and heirs of the family usually retain their family names rather than adopting “d’Tharashk” as tradition dictates. Each of the three major clans—the Aashta, the Torrn, and the Velderan—has a representative on the Triumvirate that governs the house, and the city of Zarash’ak in the Shadow Marches. Together, they stand as one under the emblem of the dragonne (a lion-dragon hybrid).
Languages You can speak, read, and write Common and Goblin.
Ability Score Increase Your Wisdom score increases by 2, and your Constitution score increases by 1.
Hunter’s Intuition When you make a Wisdom (Perception) or Wisdom (Survival) check, you can roll a d4 and add the number rolled to the ability check.
Finder’s Magic You can cast the hunter’s mark spell with this trait. Starting at 3rd level, you can also cast the locate object spell with it. Once you cast either spell with this trait, you can’t cast that spell with it again until you finish a long rest. Wisdom is your spellcasting ability for these spells.
Spells of the Mark If you have the Spellcasting or the Pact Magic class feature, the spells on the Mark of Finding Spells table are added to the spell list of your spellcasting class.
Spell Level Spells 1st faerie fire, longstrider 2nd locate animals or plants, locate object 3rd clairvoyance, speak with plants 4th divination, locate creature 5th commune with nature
(Description courtesy of D&D Beyond)