Orc

Mountain-dwelling beings with nomadic lifestyles, the orcs are a gruff people who strongly value both independence and family. While often seeming cold or openly hostile from an outsider's perspective, they are beings rooted in the virtues of honour and strength.

Basic Information

Anatomy

Despite having a roughly humanoid shape, most people would find it difficult to mistake an orc with a human. In addition to being a fair bit taller on average, their bone and muscular structure leaves them predisposed to building large amounts of muscle very quickly. They are also capable of building up large fat stores that allow them to go for long periods of starvation without ill effect.

Ecology and Habitats

Most orcs prefer to live in harsher environments, but can be found living almost anywhere. This includes mountains, swamps, deep caves, and sometimes even in the frozen northern reaches of the world. The only place one will not find orcs is in the desert, as the harsh sun and dry climate have proven to be a deadly combination for a species built for surviving the cold.

Dietary Needs and Habits

Orcs can and will eat just about anything, and they'll find the best ways of cooking it too. From animals, they will eat every part, including bones and organs, so as not to waste anything. Their tough exterior is matched with a strong constitution that makes them resistant against most naturally occurring toxins found in plants and fungi, which gives them more options when it comes to foraging. The downside of this would be that any non-orcs wishing to try orcish cuisine must be very careful about what they eat.

Additional Information

Facial characteristics

Orcs are characterized by a wide face with a strong jawline. They often have broad noses and low cheekbones. Their canines are known for appearing more like fangs, and the lower ones are particularly pronounced, such that they protrude over the upper lip. Orc ears are known for being slightly pointed near the top with a slightly larger earlobe.

Average Intelligence

Many will say that orcs possess roughly the same intelligence as a pack of wolves which, while comparisons can be drawn, would be wholly inaccurate. An orc can be as intelligent (or unintelligent) as any human dependant on any number of factors. While most would find learning in a school setting to be tedious and boring, they are more than capable of learning advanced tactics and adaptation in the field, often with little to no explanation or demonstration being given. They're tactile learners and thrive most when they can learn through trial and error, or through immediate application of a given principle.

Perception and Sensory Capabilities

While their sight and hearing is on par with that of a human, an orc's sense of smell is at least twice as strong. While unable to sniff out individual creatures like a vargis might, they are able to track the scent of blood and can even pick up the scents of broken earth and foliage from a fair distance.
An orc's sense of taste is also rather strong. Elvish scholars believe orcs to be the world's first gourmands because of this.

Civilization and Culture

Naming Traditions

The traditions behind how an orc names their child vary wildly by tribe. In one tribe, it may be common to name your child after a prominent figure in the tribe's oral history or after an ancestor. Another tribe might not name their child until they're old enough to show personality, then name them after elements of their local environment as befits them. Other still may simply make up names by combining other names with various sounds they like until they're satisfied.
Family names are considered unnecessary in orc culture. Tribes almost never have two orcs with the same name at once. Sometimes, however, a distinction is deemed appropriate in certain contexts. Introductions between members of different tribes often involve giving the orcs you know epithets that highlight something unique about the person in question or, failing that, will simply name them as "child of [parents]".

Beauty Ideals

Scars are the mark of a warrior and a survivor. One who has no scars has not lived and is often considered unattractive by most orcs. Strength is also an attractive feature, the more muscle the better more often than not, though non-physical strength is appreciated in its own way as well.
Piercings, while partly existing for fashion, are also used to mark significant events in an orc's life. One can get a fairly good idea of the sort of experience an orc has simply by studying the where and in what style their bone piercings are.
The use of paints varies by orc culture. Mountain orcs will use it as a form of personal expression, while swamp-dwelling orcs prefer to use it as extra camouflage. While the belief that the paint is "war paint" is a persistent belief among non-orcs, it is more often the case that the orcs would have been wearing the paint regardless. It is more of an accessory than a symbol, to the orcs.

Courtship Ideals

Affections are most commonly expressed through a shared solitary hunting excursion. If the two get along well, then the day's bounty is split evenly, regardless of who actually killed what. Several ventures are made by the pair, with some lasting several days. It is through the shared trials that the two learn whether the other is a suitable match for them, someone who can be trusted and looked to when in need.
A proposal is made in the form of a gift. It will typically be something made or sought out with its intended recipient in mind and is highly personal to them. If the gift is accepted, then the rest of the tribe will throw a feast to celebrate the union and future growth of the tribe.

Relationship Ideals

Both friendships and more romantic relations between orcs are built on a foundation of trust and mutual respect. It is said among orcs that only when one can trust another enough to ask them for help that they have truly formed a bond. While independence and self-reliance are core principles in the orcish way of life, it is also well understood and accepted that some things can only be done by working with others.
As it is with individuals, it is a deeply personal matter for a tribe to ask outsiders for any form of aide. This becomes even more important when non-orcs are involved. With the exception of Mountain Elves, most other humanoids have a rather negative view of orcs. An individual asking an orc for assistance becomes a great sign of trust in their eyes, and a community asking an orc tribe for any sort of help is often the beginning of an alliance.

Major Language Groups and Dialects

Orcish is an economical language, conveying complex thoughts with as few words as possible. Simple concepts, such as agreement or admiration are expressed grunts or low hums granted certain inflections, while a complicated hunting strategy can be explained in what a human would measure as a sentence or two.
It is only in stories and song that the language of orcs becomes more detailed. Many would argue that their poetic speech is an entirely different language unto itself, given that the form possesses at least five different words for blood depending on the context of how it was spilled. It would not be a broad stretch to assume that, at least in the beginning, the poetic form of Orcish was devised for the express purpose of retelling the tales of battles in as much glorious detail as possible. It is also used for the telling of a tribe's history or religious beliefs, and by some for expressing their affections.
Dialects vary wildly between orc varieties, given the often very large distance between them, but usually have enough similarities between different tribes in a given region that they can communicate with little issue.

Common Dress Code

Clothing for orcs is more a matter of practicality than modesty. One does not wear a shirt because showing off their bare chest is shameful but because it is either too cold to go without one or because any exposed flesh is susceptible to being latched onto by parasites and the less of those one has to deal with the better. None of this is to say, however, that personal fashion sense does not also play a role.
Contrary to popular belief, however, the orcs are not nudists. The only times, outside of an emergency, that one would find an orc naked in front of others would be if they were bedding someone or if they were bathing. Leaving one's bits exposed to the elements only invites trouble, any orc would tell you. Again, it's a matter of practicality.

Lifespan

40 - 50 years

Average Height

6'9" - 7'10"

Average Weight

270 - 350 lbs

Average Physique

Given their active lifestyles and high metabolism, as well as their muscle structure, the average orc has a weight-lifter's physique. Bulky muscle complements high fat reserves to give them an intimidating appearance. Most commonly, an orc will have toned arms and legs, with some paunch around the stomach (and hips in females).

Body Tint, Colouring and Marking

The skin of an orc tends to be indicative of what environment their ancestors most commonly lived in. One who lives in a swampy region will have greenish skin, while one who lives in the mountains will have grey or dusky brown skin. Tundra orcs, being one of the rarer varieties, have been known to appear either pale blue or as a mottled almost white.

Geographic Distribution

• The Everwinter