(Dragon #62)
Roger wraps up his exploration of PHB races with half-orcs, focusing on orc society and how half-orcs fit in. This approach makes this article already more useful than his piece on half-elves.
What’s it about?
Orcs are social Darwinists, where only the strong and clever thrive. They must survive in harsh environments, forcing the weak into servitude or eliminating them to preserve resources. Friendship and love are seen as weaknesses to exploit. Orcs are made this way by their gods. Orc tribes eternally war with other tribes for food and territory.
Orc women are relegated to childbearing and maintaining the cave, which feels uninspired. Orcs live entirely in the present, with no concern for the future. Half-orcs often excel in orc bands, using their intelligence to rise to leadership positions.
The article also touches on orc religion, their relationships with other humanoids, and their enmity with elves—rooted in their oppositional natures (short life vs. long life, short-term vs. long-term views). Personally, Corellon shooting out Gruumsh’s eye feels like a more compelling basis for their grudge, especially given the active role orc gods play in the lives of their tribes.
Anything insightful?
- The "survival of the fittest" and short-term mindset make orcs distinct from other PHB races.
- Smart half-orcs as the leader of orc bands is a good idea.
Should I share this with my players?
Yes. Approaching half-orcs through an orcish lens makes for compelling characters. This is making the ‘best of’ list.
Thanks for posting this - it's very timely - I've been thinking a lot lately about the origins of Half Orcs as a playable (or for that matter, unplayable) race in AD&D. As far as I know, Gygax never said much about how they came to be inclulded (unlike, for example, Gnomes, which he did talk about). Do you have any insight or info into this question?
ReplyDeleteI haven't come across the origins of half-orcs. The Tolkein /Bree link with the half-orc 'squint eyed' southerner springs to mind. I was listening to the Grogtalk podcast today with the Jody Lyn Nye (typist of the three 1e books) and she mentioned it came out of a players suggestion - a player figuring orcs were fodder and they should create a playable half-orc as it couldn't be all too powerful. I think tolkien planted the idea first and most D&D players were tolkien junkies. That and 70's D&D players were more open to anything goes sorts of games and the willingness to experiment... I'm just guessing though. What's the gnomes backstory?
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