Orc

Orcs were a primal people of unparalleled strength, hunters and herders of the wilds. Native to the wilds of Auros, natural forces shaped each orc, imbuing them with might, speed, fearlessness and, above all, a deathless devotion to their people.

Appearance

Orcs stood slightly taller than most humans on average, the shortest shy of 6 feet tall and the tallest pushing 7 feet. They were more muscular than most humans and correspondingly heavier, weighing anywhere from 150 to 300 pounds. Their skin tones ran from ashen gray to copper brown to olive green, with eyes of deep brown, vibrant green or crystal blue. Many orcs were notable for the ruff of hair that often grew down their spine; it was common cultural practice to shave, dye, braid or otherwise design this hair. An orc's most distinctive feature were their tusks, growing from their wide lower jaws. The exact size and placement of the tusks varied greatly, depending on the individual orc's heritage, and they were often a focal point for carving, adornment and other forms of decoration.
Distinct from elves and dwarves, orcs were among the shortest lived races on Ondûn. They reached matured by the end of their third year and rarely lived longer than fifteen. This fact rippled down into all aspects of orcish society. The only exception to this rule was the thrak – the leader of an orcish qorhv – and their direct offspring, who could live as long as they ruled their qorhv.
In addition, orcs were especially fleet of foot and possessed heightened senses, especially sense of smell.

Cultures

Main Article: Orcish Cultures

Qorhvs

The basic social unit of orcish society was the qorhv, a large, often nomadic group of family groups, dwelling together. Qorhvs typically hunted and herded their territories and would often engage in alliances and warfare with neighboring qorhvs, expanding or contracting as any political entity might. A qorhv was ruled by a thrak, chosen by the qorhv, but ruling with absolute authority. While the typical orc of the qorhv only lived for fifteen years, a thrak lived as long as their qorhv did. This meant that several notable thraks throughout history, such as Throka Thrak, were functionally immortal. At the same time, orcs were free to leave or splinter off into smaller qorhv at any time, meaning a thrak's very life was dependent on their ability to inspire loyalty in their people.
Qorhvan culture was often quite collectivist, placing emphasis on the group, rather than the individual. Orcs born into the qorhv weren't given unique names at birth; instead, they were referred to simply by the qorhv's name. Only through their deeds were those names earned, creating an onus on each individual to literally make a name for themselves in order to establish their identity within the qorhv. While orcs were free to leave a qorhv at any time, those that did often found themselves attaching themselves to other groups, whether organizations, religions or even social circles, to help create that same sense of community around them.

Lifespan

The most significant difference between orcs and the other Great Peoples of Ondûn was their short lifespans. The entire orcish cultural perspective, considering how briefly they live, was radically different. It was of paramount importance to an orc to make their comparatively brief existence meaningful. This often pushed them to heroic deeds and great endeavors, rivaling humanity for the scope of their ambitions. It also meant that orcs were phenomenally fast learners. Compared to someone like an elf – who might spend a decade learning a particular technique perfectly – an orc might pick up a similarly complicated task in a week, a day or an hour.

Nature

The natural world was essential to orcish culture. Primal magic was first discovered by the ancient orcs of Auros. They believed that Ondûn itself – its earth, its soil, even its plants – was sacred and not for mortals to interfere with. Thus, mining, logging and agriculture were all seen as taboo in the Vanished Time. Animals, however, were seen as peers and equals to the orcs and were thus literally fair game. Leather, fur, hide, dung and particularly bone were the primary raw resources of orcish life. Their druids learned to sculpt bone into incredible shapes, creating structures and weapons from the skeletons of the great beasts they slew.
However, as contact with other peoples increased, many orcs began to drift away from these beliefs. Trading cities on the Auran coast brought new ideas – farming, metallurgy, logging – to the orcish people. Some qorhvs embraced these new ways with open arms. Some clung to their ancient traditions and refused to modernize for thousands of years, if ever.

Ancestries

Half-Orc

Main Article: Half-Orc
Anywhere that humans and orcs would've had regular contact, one could find populations of half-orcs, better known as the dshori. While they shared heritage from both their human and orcish ancestors, the dshori of Ondûn were a true-breeding people that developed their own culture, distinct from either of their parent cultures. While an individual might have more or less human or orcish ancestry but regardless, they were nonetheless considered a dshori.
The cities and states of the Draconic Coast coast were particularly populous with half-orcs.

Uruk

Transformed by Yog's corruption, uruks were demonic parodies of true orcs. There were few exact specifications to what an uruk looked like; often they sprouted horns or hooves, extra tusks or even blades of bone from their very skin. Some retained their intelligence and free will, often serving as commanders and generals, while others were enthralled directly to the Elder Evil. Any bond of qorhv or thrak was broken during Yog's reign and even their lives were extended, to better serve Yog's interests.
By and large, most uruks were devoted to Yog but some, further from Its influence when It broke free, were less easily swayed to Its cause. Nonetheless, those few uruks who did not serve Yog's whims either fled into hiding or were quickly destroyed.

Religion

Before contact with dwarves from Khûm, the orcs of Auros shared no unified religious belief, beyond the reverence for the earth. Some worshipped particular animals, others particular locations or natural phenomenon. Even after adopting the Prime Pantheon, many orcs hold those entities to be sacred.

Orcish Pantheon

In contrast to the dwarven family or the elven melodrama, the orcs of Auros interpreted the six gods as six divine beasts, the most influential in their previous spiritual practices. Unique to the orcs, however, was the conceit that every specimen of the species in question is a literal representation of that deity; every boar a pious orc might encounter was Boar and treated as such. Consequently, it was no considered blasphemous to hunt or herd these avatars of the gods, so long as proper respect was given.

• Boar was the orcish god of strength and courage. According to orcish mythology, Boar taught the orcs to leap headfirst into danger and gave them tusks to lead the way.
• Deer was the orcish god of dexterity and speed. Deer taught the orcs caution and speed, reminding them that, in Auros, they were prey as much as predators.
• Hyena was the orcish god of constitution and feasting. Hyena oversaw many of the orcish holidays and gave them their hardy orcish stomachs.
• Ape was the orcish god of intelligence and invention. His hands – and the cleverness to use them – were what allowed the orcs to craft their first weapons and tools.
• Owl was the orcish god of wisdom and hunting. A silent predator, Owl taught the orcs how to track prey and stay aware of their surroundings, even in the dead of night.
• Wolf was the orcish god of charisma and family. Often associated with worgs, Wolf taught the orcs to how to organize their qorhvs and what traditions they must uphold.

The orcs told many fables about their gods, smuggling life lessons in amongst the tales. In addition to their positive traits, most of the gods also bore negative associations – Boar with recklesness, Deer with cowardice – to help impart orcish values onto the listener.

History

Thanks to their nomadic lifestyle, rapid movement and short lifespans, the ancient orcs spread quickly across Auros in the Vanished Time. While the elves kept to the Wombwood and the dwarves to their Hidden Kingdom, it wasn't long before all the central continent was roamed by qorhvs and their herds. For uncounted years, they traded and warred with one another. It wasn't until first contact was made with those Sister Empires that all those qorhvs united beneath a single thrak, one of the legendary adventuring company that forged the three empires into alliance – and the First Age dawned.
The First Age would bring prosperity to all three empires, the orcs included. Even though their grand qorhv ultimately did not last, they were nonetheless enriched by trade and contact with the other Great Peoples. The Night Wars of 899 1A, however, were the first of many tragedies that would befall Auros in the Ages to come. When the undead of Thanatos invaded, Auros took one of the heaviest tolls, both in population and ecological devastation. By the time the wars ended in the early Second Age, much of southern and central Auros were transformed into a necrotic wasteland called the Spoils.
It would remain so despoiled for centuries after but the troubles were only beginning. As the Sister Empires fractured, human refugees fled devastation in Sapphros and Obsidios, crowding into land already too little to contain all the displaced orcs. Many orcs fled Auros during this time, establishing colonies in Emeros, Rubicos and even distant Diamos. Those who remained fell prey to the [NAME], a series of seismic catastrophies that crumbled cities, sparked avalanches and even rent the earth in places.
Little did they know these earthquakes were truly an artifice of Yog's, seeking to weaken the crust beneath Auros to allow Its escape. While this attempt was ultimately unsuccessful, it did allow Yog to influence the local populations – humans, elves and orcs – more and more over the next age. When, at the end of the Third Age, Yog finally broke free, It quickly corrupted all the peoples of Auros – humans into tieflings, elves into dark elves, orcs into uruks – to better serve Its nefarious ends. Those orcs who'd established communities apart from Auros were unaffected and repulsed by what became of their once glorious homeland.
Many orcish qorhvs and nations joined the Covenant Kingdoms at the dawn of the Fourth Age, seeking a means to fight back against Yog's spreads. Those orcs under Yog's spell, transformed into demonic uruks, were reorganized into new legions, their old ties to their qorhvs broken, and competed fiercely for their dark patron's attention. Many uruks were relocated to the desolate Tarask Wastes, where they spent their days hunting the great undead beast that Yog reanimated for their amusement. They proved instrumental in a number of important battles during the final war, including the conquest of both Thorp and the Wombwood.

Orcish Ancestral Traits

• Ability Score Increase: Your Strength score increases by 2 and your Constitution score increases by 1.
• Size: Your size is Medium.
• Speed: Your base walking speed is 40.
• Heightened Senses: You have advantage on all Wisdom (Perception) checks made to detect creatures.
• Hunter's Pursuit: You can Dash as a bonus action.
• Primal Intuition: You can gain proficiency in one of the following skills; Animal Handling, Medicine, Nature or Survival.
• 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.
• Languages: You can speak, read and write Common and Qorhvan.

Orcish Heroes & Villains

• Umber