Orcs
The orc name for themselves literally translates as "the wretched." It is hard to imagine the circumstances that lead to an entire people thinking of themselves this way, but, unfortunately, they live up to it.
Most Orcs are unfortunately savage, preferring to live on the edges of civilized lands, in fact, they usually inhabit some of the worst areas of Pyroeis. The Gogron Tribes in the north of the Zekrukar Empire, for example, are one of the major inhabitants of The Blight, along with Goblins and Gnolls.
Orcs can successfully breed with humans to create half-orcs, and with Smalin to produce @goo. Old stories speak of successful offspring with Elves as well, but no one knows what the offspring look like, or are called.
There have been many notable orcs over the millenia since there creation. One such notable was Ark-Kipur, author of The Tenets of Ark-Kipur. Interestingly, even though Ark-Kipur was known across the continent, no depictions nor descriptions survive.
Basic Information
Anatomy
Similar to humans, Elves, and most intelligent species, orc have two legs, two arms, and a head. However, orcs are ugly. Large tusks grow from their lower jaws, their features are often mismatched, random moles with bits of hair growing out of them, limbs of slightly different lengths; all of these are common traits of orcs.
Orc skin color ranges from bright green to grey. This coloration is governed by their environment, the fouler the area they reside in, the greener their skin becomes. This process can take months to a couple of year depending on how fouled their environment is.
Genetics and Reproduction
Orcs are born in groups of 2-3 children. Orc infants are decidedly NOT cute. Often described as piglets with arms and legs by others, the name for orc children in most orc languages literally translates as 'larva' or other such terms.
As orcs regularly inhabit areas fouled by dark magics and environmental catastrophes, a high rate of birth defects is common among orcs. The most detrimental of these birth defects often lead to death, and it is not uncommon for orcs to commit infanacide if the child is suffering too much.
Growth Rate & Stages
Strangely, for peoples that are savage and violent, orcs are very protective of their children. This is necessary, as most orc children are born sickly. It is not uncommon for an orc child to die in the first year of life, and orcs do not give full names to anyone under the age of five.
Ecology and Habitats
Most orcs inhabit some of the worst places Pyroeis has to offer. The Blight, for instance, has a large orcish population.
Dietary Needs and Habits
Orcs can stomach some of the foulest items that can be called food. It is however not uncommon for orcs to try make the best they can out of what they have. This is in line with The Tenets of Ark-Kipur, which states "good food is a pleasure every orc can enjoy, no matter what else they are."
Additional Information
Social Structure
In most tribes, Orcs have two rulers; a brutal war-chief and a deceptive and powerful high-shaman.
War-chiefs are usually male, and in fact are always referred to as male, no matter their biological sex. War-Chiefs are usually disposed of violently by their successors. If they fall in battle against an enemy force, the tribe usually hold a brutal series of fights to determine a new war-chief.
High-shamans, on the other hand, are usually women and are considered the first wife of the war-chief (though no smart war-chief would treat them as any lesser than themselves). Regardless of this, war-chiefs rarely try to force a high-shaman to be monogamous. Usually, high-shamans choose their successors long before their death, so that the secrets they have learned are not lost to the tribe.
Facial characteristics
About the only feature that all orcs share is a set of protruding tusks from their bottom jaw. These are highly prized by orcs. In fact, if you want to prove an orc is dead, bring in their tusks.
Average Intelligence
Most orcs are dimwitted and uneducated, except in warfare and The Tenets of Ark-Kipur. Most educated orcs are female, but even then it is because they are spellcasters of some kind.
Perception and Sensory Capabilities
Orc eyes are among the most sensitive in the world. they can see in almost pitch blackness but have little difficulty adjusting to even the brightest lights.
Orcs also have sensitive ears, able to hear at long distances, and sensitive to individual sounds in crowded noisy villages.
Symbiotic and Parasitic organisms
Lice, ticks, and other parasites are common to orcs. this is partially because their misshapen bodies are difficult to clean.
Genetic Descendants
Origin/Ancestry
The Gogron Tribes, the Rit-Kar, the Oni.
Lifespan
60 years
Conservation Status
For the most part, most non-orc groups are engaged in the extermination of orcs, either actively or passively. Only the Ita work towards maintaining orc populations, considering them part of the balance of the world.
Average Height
5'6" to 6'5", though, even this is highly variable in orcs.
Average Weight
250-550 lbs
Average Physique
heavily muscled, thick-skinned, and hardy, orcs are well suited to the environments that they often inhabit.
Body Tint, Colouring and Marking
greenish to greyish
Geographic Distribution
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