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.
If you want a character who is hardy, fearsome, and excels at feats of physical prowess, you should play an orc.
You might…
Eagerly meet any chance to prove your strength in a physical contest.
View dying in glorious combat as preferable to a mundane death from old age or illness.
Others probably…
See you as violent or lacking in discipline.
Admire your forthrightness and blunt honesty.
Physical description
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.
Society
Orcs often live in tribes, defining themselves by two things: pain and glory. Each earns respect in near equal measure, as long as the pain is borne with stoicism. Walking around with a broken leg will earn you as much respect as a big victory does.
What exactly defines glory differs per tribe, while some value victories in battles, others prefer wits, inventions, or even performances.
Power also defines the dynamics within families and tribes. The strong rule, the weak rule at their behest. While some tribes lean more heavily into this than others, it is a theme found within all Orc societies.
Orcs tend to share familial duties with the whole tribe, rather than leaving it to just the parents. It takes parents to raise a child, but it takes a tribe to raise a warrior.
Orc names are often as harsh as their ways, containing rough consonants and short vowels.
Example names: Arkus, Grask, Murdut, Unach.
Beliefs
Orcs have two common sayings, "you are the scars that shape you" and "it takes a tribe to raise a warrior". While violence and chaos is in their nature, these beliefs showcase a softer side to the ancestry that not many find upon first sight.
The Orcs worship various deities, usually chosen by the tribe's elders. While any creature is one that can be killed, their respect for the deities often outweighs the desire to hunt (though this is not always the case).
Popular Edicts
Become even stronger.
Share knowledge you won through pain.
Wear scars as badges of honor.
Popular Anathema
Accept defeat without proof of strength.
Reshape or reanimate a creature into something lesser.
Stats
Remaster.
