Orc
Orcs are proud, strong people with hardened physiques who value physical might and glory in combat.
Orcs are forged in the fires of violence and conflict, often from the moment they are born. As they live lives that are frequently cut brutally short, orcs revel in testing their strength against worthy foes, often by challenging a higher-ranking member of their community for dominance. Orcs often struggle to gain acceptance among other communities, who frequently see them as brutes. Those who earn the loyalty of an orc friend, however, soon learn that an orc's fidelity and honesty are unparalleled. Orc culture teaches that they are shaped by the challenges they survive, and the most worthy survive the most hardships. Orcs who attain both a long life and great triumphs command immense respect.
SUB-ETHNICITIES
Badlands
Battle-Ready
Deep
Grave
Stronghold-Scarred
Rainfall
Winter
Orcs are tall and powerfully built, with long arms and stocky legs. Many orcs top 7 feet in height, though they tend to adopt broad, almost bow-legged stances and slouch forward at the shoulders. Orcs have rough skin, thick bones, and rock-hard muscles, making them suited to war and other physically demanding tasks. Orc skin color is typically some shade of green, though some orcs have other skin colors that reflect adaptations to their environments.
Orcs consider powerful builds, heavily scarred skin, large tusks, and tattoos attractive, regardless of gender. Orcs reach physical adulthood around the age of 17, with many orcs living to be up to 60 years old due to their violent culture, however they can live up to 150 years of age given a more cautious lifestyle.
Most orc communities—known as strongholds—define themselves through two things: pain and glory. Each earns respect in near equal measure, so long as the pain is borne with stoicism. An orc with many scars who walks uncomplaining with a broken leg draws as much admiration as one who wins a great victory on the battlefield. Additionally, power defines the dynamics among families and holds. Weaker orcs work at the behest of the strong, with power constantly shifting between orcs that prove their might. Orcs tend to share in familial duties, raising children as a community and sharing responsibilities among the entire stronghold.
A common orc saying is “you are the scars that shape you.” Violent, chaotic lives in violent, chaotic lands mean that most orcs tend to expect and accept violence.
While there are orc deities, their worship is surprisingly uncommon among orcs. Orcs believe that if a creature has a face and a name, it can be killed, and so their own deities are often targets, rather than objects of reverence. Some orc holds teach that the greatest members of the hold can earn a chance to challenge the orc deities for a place amid the pantheon.
Popular Edicts become even stronger, share knowledge you won through pain, destroy the undead
Popular Anathema accept defeat without proof of strength, reshape or reanimate a creature into something lesser
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