Post/Author/DateTime	Post
MysticRhythms 09-12-03, 03:14 PM	Alright, I think you're starting to see where i'm going with this. You have a player at your table and he really wants to play a Half-Orc. He's enamored with the Strength bonus of course and he likes the idea of being big, dumb and ugly. He wants to grunt and speak in "Me Grok. Me smash." sentences all of the time. His history always revoles around the rape of his human mother byhis orcish father. Aren't you sick of the 'my half-orc's mom was raped" backstories? This one is probably easier to solve than the Monk (in fact, I had a Wizard player who chose to be a half-orc who was a liaison between an orcish and human country, but still had the rape history element of his character). I'd like to hear of some unique flavorful half-orc ideas that don't involve the stereotypes I've mentioned. Obviously this "race" is smart enough to have survived to make it into the Player's Handbook. Help debunk the stereotype. Tell me about your most creative half-orc.
Frodo Lives 09-12-03, 03:30 PM	My half orc monk was the son of two half orcs, not the product of a human/orc mating. His parents left him at the monastary because they wanted to give him a safe and secluded life, not one of mockery and bigotry. He left the monastary because he wanted to experience life and the world all around him, he is not ashamed to be half orc and makes no excuses of comments about it. If you don't like him, to bad he doesn't care. He is a half orc just as someone else may be human or an elf or a dwarf. He feels that there is no sense worrying about something you can't change and he accepts his heritage.
Basaxerxes the First 09-12-03, 04:24 PM	Well, here a couple of ideas that spring to mind: 1) Flip the rape backstory on its head. Have a half-orc whose orcish mother was raped by his human father. 2) A half-orc who was raised by halflings. Not only does she have an immense distrust of both humans and orcs, but she's been trained in the sorts of skills halflings possess, and in their ethos. That should take care of the "Grok Smash!" problem. 3) A number of issues ago, Dragon magazine ran an excellent cover portraying a half-orc paladin, and I though at the time it would be interesting to see a half-orc who was noble, valiant, and so on. Anyway, just a few wee thoughts...
Orcpaladin 09-12-03, 10:17 PM	I love half-orcs and have used various backgrounds for my characters. 1.) Rape - of course. This can be done with the PC being shunned (the usual) or can be done with the mother being a loving influence on the character despite the circumstances behind his/her creation. 2.) As mentioned above, the parents both being half-orcs is a viable option. 3.) In places such as Thay and Darkhold, where orcs are used as troops, it would be possible for an orc to impregnate a human prostitute. (Used this one too).
TinySilverChalice 09-12-03, 10:35 PM	I came up with (but never got to play :weep: ) a half-orc monk in a FR campain. She was the daughter of an older orc shamman woman who decided she needed protection in her aging years and decided to breed herself the only protector she could possibly trust. She was able to influence (read: scare) the tribe leader into letting her have her way with a captive human male. When the child was born a girl, the shamman was dissappointed. Orc women were not allowed weapons in that tribe. Thus the shamman did her best to teach her daughter to fight unarmed. When the old woman finally died of old age (the first to do that in the tribe for longer than any could remember), the female half-orc monk was driven out by the tribe who distrusted a female so potentially dangerous. I swear I'm gonna play her someday!
spike spiegel 09-12-03, 11:05 PM	I have a player with a half orc character whose parents are happily married, his father is an unusally intelligent orc that decided to live among humans when he discovered he didn't have the bestial nature of his people. He faced much prejudice and hardship, but after meeting his very open-minded wife he has found a happy life... The player's character is actually fairly intelligent and very wise (INT 12 WIS 17) but rather weak and sickly (STR 10 CON 10) He is a cleric of Palinsa, the goddess of healing, so he is a pacifist. Basically, he is counter to every stereotype of the half orc there is.
Zoticus 09-13-03, 12:28 AM	The half-orc bard that i am playing is the daughter of a retired adventure (and now deceased) cleric of sune and a wise and powerful Gray Orc Paladin of Tyr. Her mother found the inner beauty of this noble gray orc and gave herself freely to him.
Toptomcat 09-13-03, 02:06 AM	I just looked at the half-orc and made the anti-orc. Graak is an enlightened, somewhat passive cleric of Kord who would much rather talk than fight, even with patently evil creatures.
Teron Gorefiend 09-13-03, 02:40 PM	Originally posted by spike spiegel I have a player with a half orc character whose parents are happily married, his father is an unusally intelligent orc that decided to live among humans when he discovered he didn't have the bestial nature of his people. He faced much prejudice and hardship, but after meeting his very open-minded wife he has found a happy life... The player's character is actually fairly intelligent and very wise (INT 12 WIS 17) but rather weak and sickly (STR 10 CON 10) He is a cleric of Palinsa, the goddess of healing, so he is a pacifist. Basically, he is counter to every stereotype of the half orc there is. He is not weak and sickly, damn it! He may not quite have the strength of most half-orcs, but he is just as strong and healthy as the majority of humans. Get it into your thick skulls, people: a 10 is the human average. Most PC's ability scores may be higher than that, but that's because adventurers are far above average. That doesn't make a 10 bad. For that matter, an 8 isn't that bad (only a little sub-par, and average for some races).
Barrid 09-13-03, 02:47 PM	My entry for the UnCon was a half-orc Cleric of Gruumsh who used his charisma and intelligence to quell internal conflict within the tribe. He kept his own warriors alive so they can make someone else's warriors dead. He's adventuring at the behest of his future step-father and mentor so that he can become powerful, wise and know more about the people he will have to fight (was told it was to seek challenges worthy of himself and Gruumsh). Urikk Seven-Sons ihis name for future obvious reasons :) I'd link him, but that seemed a tad tacky, so you know where to find him if you care.
spike spiegel 09-13-03, 03:23 PM	Originally posted by Teron Gorefiend He is not weak and sickly, damn it! He may not quite have the strength of most half-orcs, but he is just as strong and healthy as the majority of humans. Get it into your thick skulls, people: a 10 is the human average. Most PC's ability scores may be higher than that, but that's because adventurers are far above average. That doesn't make a 10 bad. For that matter, an 8 isn't that bad (only a little sub-par, and average for some races). Why don't you relax before you have a heart attack...I realize that a 10 is an average score...the player that plays the character decided that he would play him weak and sickly in comparison to the typical half orc, he may be as strong and healthy as the majority of humans but is he as strong and healthy as the majority of half orcs? In the player's opinion, no...no need to get all bent out of shape cause it isn't your character and it isn't your campaign and if decides that's how he wants to play it then that is his decision and that's the way it's going to be.
Tan Shao Han 09-14-03, 05:21 AM	hi guys, The first PC i played in DnD 3e was a Chaotic Good Half-orc barbarian. it was 2000 i think, and i had just gotten into the air force, and my weekends off duty were spent on 3e DnD. the first thing i saw in the PHB was "Barbarian" under the classes, and i thought, hey, why not play a half-orc barbarian. i've never had that chance in 2e.. as half-orcs weren't a core race in the PHB, and the barbarian seemed a nice change from the full-plate-sword-board fighter that's so prevalent in 2e games. so i told my DM, hey, i want to play a half-orc desert nomad who's good with horses and wrestles a lot, inspired by the Mongols. i called him Aketh, and got pretty dang good stats: Str 20 Dex 14 Con 14 Int 14 Wis 12 Cha 16 Aketh's father is a human, his mother is an orc. The tribesmen of his father's people were worshippers of Istus, the Baklunish Goddess of Fate and Destiny in the Greyhawk setting. They were nomads who lived their lives according to the dictates of destiny and life's changing nuances. My dad was the 3rd son of an old grizzled Caliph horse-warrior. The family tradition is this : when you hit 16 yrs of age, you must go through the Test of Will. The concept of family is very important to the desert nomads, as life is harsh and you need all the help from friends and clansmen that you can get. The Test of Will is one where the supplicant to Istus draws an enchanted bow, nocks an arrow, and launches the arrow at the horizon - the magic of the rite carries the arrow far beyond its normal range... and you are to submit your Will to that of Destiny's, and you walk on to the horizon, until you find what Destiny has in store for you - it will be marked by the arrow. Remember what i said bout family being a strong tradition? The supplicant will also be honour-bound to wed the first woman he speaks to, after he finds the arrow. you can guess where this is going... ;) Aketh's dad slogged on over the desert dunes and mountains, fell off a cliff after some battles with an orc war-band to recover the magical arrow, and finally landed in a ridge, broke his ankle, fading into unconsciousness with the magical arrow in his hand. He was nursed back to health by a female orc who was on the run from that same warband in the mountain caverns - she was a sorceress who has no wish to be subjected to the life of servitude for a female in orcish society. Aketh's dad was quite a looker, so she thought hey i should help this guy out. when he came to, he was semi-lucid, and he asked about his whereabouts. the female orc, with her powers of sorcery, managed to translate his words, and she told him he was injured from a bad fall from the ravine. When the man came to, he was mortified to find that the first woman he had spoken to after he found the arrow was an Orc... and she had saved his life. Fate works in mysterious ways. He returned to his tribe with her as his bride, and was jeered at by many others for his ugly bride, but he did not take it to heart - he soon fell in love with her, an unlikely match, for he discovered her wisdom, grace, and compassion, and her magical powers of divination assured him of victory in his exploits, and she also bore him a single child, though she perished in the child-birth. In time, Aketh's dad married again, though this time it was a political marriage, ordered by his own father, to a clan of reclusive sun elves living in the desert. By that marriage, he had 3 daughters... and that is how my half-orc barbarian had half-elf sisters. when i hit 16 yrs, the half-elves were still kinda toddling around - and it was time for me to say goodbye to my family, and subject to the Test of Will, to submit my will to Destiny. i was a barbarian 1/ bard 1 - a warrior-poet-storyteller, or more often, simply "bardarian". i shot the arrow, and landed up getting enslaved by an expansionist empire led by a Red Dragon's cult for trespassing, fighting in the slave gladiator pits, leading a rebellion against the Dragon, was threatened with the death of my fellows if i did not serve the empire, and so i served the empire to protect them.. and i was conscripted to invade the Northern lands of Frost and Cold. I betrayed the empire, inspired the rest of my party to rebel. With my grey skin and tusks, and bardic skills and magic, I pretended to be a god, Magni, the Son of Thor and an Earth Giant, and inspired the Frost Barbarians i had thrown my lot in with, to regain their fighting spirit against the empire as well. In time we destroyed the Dragon's forces and brokered an uneasy peace between the peoples - at the cost of my own life. Ah. memories. -sob- sorry for long rambling post. haha. hope this was entertaining to you all. he's easily my fave DnD character, and because of him, all my fellow players/ DMs don't think of orcs as brutes. they think of orcs as "wow, those guys can really fight, and they're not afraid to die for a cause.." and when i heard them complaining bout how the orcs were unfairly depicted in the pansy elf-loving LOTR movies, my heart swelled with warmth and pride :-P oh, and i never did find the arrow haha. (sheepish)
Orc_Fodder 09-15-03, 04:10 AM	I had a Half-orc, and I didnt want to play him as a dumb Character, so I put one of my best rolls for him (a 16) into int. (14) he was a Fighter/Barbarian, but he ended up being the smartest character in the party, the world was low magic and highly Predjudice against him, almost everyone considering him a dumb brute on the spot, but those who knew of the intellect he had always seemed to award him a high level of respect. I loved playing him, and he is in fact my favourite character that i have played to date. I just loved how everyone thought he was so dumb, just because of his race, and just imagining the looks on the NPC's Faces' when they finaly realize that he is in fact smarter then most humans. It was Awesome!
Faeryl Zauvirr 09-15-03, 05:37 AM	Our DM once ran a very different campaign world. I was playing a half-orc that was bred, as part of a unnatural program to create a stronger and more intellegent army of orcs. He escaped from the BBEG's prison fortress and took to the life of wanderering. He was very chaotic, but possessed a heart of pure good. However years of abuse and alienation lead him to a life of violence. His former adventuring partners faced off with him one stormy night and he was slain. When he died he look like this: Odrge LE Male Half-Orc Rog4/Brd2/Clr8/Blk2
HammerFist 09-15-03, 06:06 PM	Originally posted by Faeryl Zauvirr Our DM once ran a very different campaign world. I was playing a half-orc that was bred, as part of a unnatural program to create a stronger and more intellegent army of orcs. Gee, I wonder where he got that idea from. :rolleyes:
KOJAK 09-15-03, 06:07 PM	Actually, my half orc was sired when his orc mother raped the human father. He had to much ale that night....
Mr. VanderMeer 09-16-03, 06:00 AM	I have a half-orc as well. His mother was raped actually, but I think I've given it a bit of a twist. Ravock's mother was actually kept as a slave by the orcs. She gave birth to Ravock, but he was raised by the orcs. An evil necromancer that worked with the orcs had a dislike for Ravock. He killed his mother and animated her corpse to attack Ravock. Ravock won that fight and put his mother's soul to rest. He gained a deep respect for death and hates those that would defile the dead or animate them. He also hates the orcs he lives with and their chaotic ways. Ravock is a LN cleric of Wee Jas, Guardian of Death. He fights for the sanctity of death. He sees a clean undisturbed death is everyone right.
Trydan 09-16-03, 06:08 AM	Half-Orc is a derogatory term, like Drow. In the same way that Drow has a very specific and derogatory meaning, and is used by wood-elves to deride their dark-elf bretheren, the term Half-orc is used to put down the peoples of the <insert name here> kingdoms. Yes, they look big and mean and (to humans) ugly, but they are their own people and they keep to themselves. They are fierce and proud, marry only amongst themselves and a very loyal. They are a noble people, these so-called "Half-orcs", and encourage the divine and arcane magicks. They are enlightened and revere knowledge and education. That they know so much often makes the human neighbours nervous, and perhaps this is the source of the derision.
Obi-Wan Quixote 09-17-03, 10:16 AM	I've played with the "half-orcish wizard" concept before, but never really got a chance to expand. Wizard #1 (can't remember his name) was a one-legged citizen of his village taken in by the village wizard as a charity case. When the old wizard passed on, the half-orc was well-beloved by his fellows for his kind nature, but was constantly afraid of not living up to his mentor's reputation. Wizard #2 was a former mine slave. Intensely anti-social, he nonetheless pursued the study of magic with a dogged determination. Among the apprentice wizards, he tended to be a bully, sneaking up on others and beating them up at night. When he god out of wizarding school, he discovered to his chagrin that a Strength 18 isn't a match for a real fighter's gauntleted fist.
Obi-Wan Quixote 09-17-03, 10:26 AM	Another half-orcish concept: Druid Much more in touch with his "natural side" than many humans and cast out for his dusky skin and pungent musk, this half-orc found solace with a barn owl with no sense of smell. While he lived on his own at first, he soon discovered a peaceful spring where animals would come to drink. At this spring, the lion would literally lay down next to the lamb, all enmities would be forgotten, and, for a time, animals (and people) could reflect on the beauty around them without fear of predators. The twist: This half-orc, of a chaotic neutral persuasion, took up praying to the spirits of the predators, for was he not a predator? Armed with a spear and a makeshift bow, he would stalk deer, rabbit, and quail for his sustenance. The spirits informed him this spring was unnatural. Violating an ancient ban placed by the nature, he ritually slaughtered a deer at the spring and offered its spirit to the predator spirits, and they were pleased. The nature gods, somewhat weak spirits linked only to that forest, cast him out from the woodlands, and now he adventures. Instead of protecting the weak, however, he encourages the strong to prey on them, for that is the natural order.
OmniCrash 09-20-03, 02:31 PM	My Half-Orcish Character might be a Fighter-Barbarian, but he's also Pretty friendly if you don't draw a Dagger on him. He's also a Ladie's Man and a Showoff. Oh yeah, and His parents were actually A Green orc And a Elven woman. Loki, an Orc with a consience, due to his small portion of draconic blood, deserted a Raiding party he was with. He then Ended up being taken in by a young woman who was also shunned by her parents (2 clerics of Hextor). They fell in love over a period of time.. The child was born, then the raiding party came back and Killed Loki. The woman, Nyorea, Then took the child to the nearest human city and Raised him as a Fighter under Kord.
stembolt 09-21-03, 01:09 AM	You know if it is the character he wants to play… He should be the one in charge of his character. I mean if you are going to make up his background you may as well just completely change his character to the way you want. Like an elven paladin.
SSj3goblin 09-23-03, 10:37 AM	A HALF ORC WIZARD!!! http://www.wizards.com/dnd/images/pc_portraits/200102_274_10.jpg OR A HALF ORC WIT A GUN! http://www.wizards.com/dnd/images/pc_portraits/277_ork-halfork.jpg :D :embarrass :D
OmniCrash 09-23-03, 11:28 AM	Those are cool Half-orcs. Heh. The Gunner is bad-ass. =p
Tiara Brightsaber 09-27-03, 07:25 PM	I guess the big problem is... really who would WANT to have sex with an orc. They're like... REALLY ugly! I guess that's why the typical "mother assaulted by evil orc" is so common. How about an orc whose tribe got attacked by some wizards (or were attacking) them, and got caught a bit of a polymorph spell so that he's a half-orc? Or a human in a similar situation? That makes me think (a dangerous past-time) if elves sees humans (ie really ugly) the way humans see orcs? Then again, there seem to be alot of half elves running around whose parents actually liked each other so maybe not. (Edit: going with my earlier origin idea, how about that character becoming a monk to gain discipline to overcome their orcish nature so that they can live among humans, even if only at the fringes of their society?)
EvilDuck 09-27-03, 08:27 PM	Originally posted by Tiara Brightsaber I guess the big problem is... really who would WANT to have sex with an orc. I'm sure savage humanoids are very adept at fulfilling secual pleasures. And some chicks are just really desparate.
SmiloDan 09-28-03, 10:11 AM	The halforc in the campaign I run was raised by orcs, but was kidnapped by a wizard and enslaved. After a couple years of making magic missile scrolls, he ran away and began adventuring. He acts like a front line fighter, which was a bit of a problem at 1st level when his AC was 10 and hit points were 8 (thanks to his toad familiar) and he wasn't proficient with any of his weapons. He did take a level of barbarian. He is now a Wizard 2/barbarian 1 with Combat Casting and Run feats.
gen_tora 09-28-03, 11:22 AM	Enter Bill... Billard Tuskslayer, half-orc Rogue/Barbarian. Str- 16 Dex-15 Con 12 Int-14 Wis-10 cha-12 This guy is one of my favorites, his grandfather raided a small village and took a human girl and her daughter prisoner. Thuk, billard's dad, made friends and eventuallt fell in love with the slave girl. Taking her daughter as his own. Thuk was kicked out his tribe for this, killed his dad the chief and 7 others before he left. Thuk and his wife made their way to a small village where Thuk found the job as town sheriff. Thuk has 2 1/2 orc sons and one human daughter (adopted). He is very well respected. Of course you also have Billard who is extremelt intelligent, especial for a 1/2 orc, though only mildly strong by the same standards. Billard is a local bounty hunter who by sheer luck of his blood line scares the living sh*t out of most criminals he tracks down. Unfortuately he has the name Billard (named after his human grandfather, who actually likes him) to mark him. This guy is a blast to play because he is actually very articulated and intelligent. Unfortunately his blood means most people think he is an idiot.
Kinger 09-29-03, 12:31 AM	Time for my take on the Half-Orc Druid to take the stand... "Greetings and salutations! I am Bison Run Thunderous! What is this... place of cricket-prints on granite?" "Uh... It's called a Message Board, Mr. Thunderous. That's writing." "A Message Beard. I see. It looks nothing like the beards of the bison I follow. What messages does it relay?" "That's Message board, not beard." "Really? Well, that sounds much more likely. This looks nothing like a beard. And... what's this place I'm in right now?" "It's called a city, orc." "Sit-tee... I see. It must have been massive termites that made such hives." "Those are buildings, not hives. And people made them." "Truthfully? I never thought people could do such things... People-spit doesn't make a very good glue." "They don't use their spit... Oh forget it." ***** Bison Run Thunderous was a fun character to play. He served as a brawny druid and animal lover, and I bumped his charisma up to further defy the 'strong-as-an-ox-but-without-the-brains-or-personality' stereotype, of which I freely admit to participating in on more than one occasion (Bbn and Rgr). So, here he is. He's from the Forgotten Realms, just as note. Bison Run Thunderous Male Half-Orc Druid, N The Shaar is a vast, rolling grassland populated mainly by nomadic humans, centaurs, wemics, and gnolls. Other races, such as orcs and their kin, do not tend to remain in the Shaar very long, due either to the harshness of its conditions or the hostility of its inhabitants. A small clan of orcs, driven from their mountains by dwarven conflicts, initially tried to settle in the Shaar more than a decade ago. After briefly mingling with the native nomadic tribes of humans, the orcs left the sunny and flat Shaar in search of somewhere more comfortable. Offspring that resulted from the aforementioned mingling where ostracized from the orcish band and forced into hermitic existences. Bison Run Thunderous was one of those hermits. Abandoned by his clan, the young half-orc was left to wander the grasslands, alone. He took to following migrating herds of bison in order to find food and water. Eventually, the herds became accustomed to his presence. The young half-orc, soon after his abandonment, became the recipient of many odd dreams and visions, all of which eventually led him along the druidic path. Voices in the winds and beasts encouraged him to revere balance in the world, eventually leading to his worship of Silvanus. Upon setting foot to the path of the druids, the half-orc took the new name Bison Run Thunderous in homage to the raw power displayed by a stampede, and has since cast aside his old, orcish name. In his travels, the Druid has befriended a lone prairie wolf. He has since named her Vishi and trained her in hunting and tracking. I believe his stats were, at lvl 1: 18 Str, 12 Dex, 10 Int, 16 Wis, 14 Char. Survivor was taken as his first feat.
Eck 09-29-03, 02:58 AM	An idea I toyed around with was instead of half orc/half human, why not another race? I'm sure orcs rape the other species almost as much as humans. :) Also I've played intelligent orcs but still spoke in the "Ugg, smash." sentence form to play up the stereo-type. I'd only let people I REALLY trusted in on the secret that I'm pretty smart. :) - Eck
The_Dark_One 10-04-03, 03:40 AM	Darien was a half-orc PC of mine. Hid mother was minor human nobility. She fell in love with one of the soldiers assigned to protect her (he was an orc). The concieved a child and were killed so that no one would find out. The child was taken by his mother's paladin protector. He was raised on ships and learned sailing as a profession. He also realized he had the potential to become a paladin. He eventually sought out his human family and attempted to join the ranks of the paladin order that protected the count (looking back, I highly suspect it was an order of blackguards).
HammerHeart81 10-10-03, 01:39 AM	I'm happy to say that I played a half-orc Paladin. Orginaly brought up in an orphanage, Cor Ryan had aspirations of being a noble hero. While many of the other children laughed at the idea of a half-orc, Cor never gave up. One day, Paladin made a visit and notice the young half-orc. The Paladin noticed the potential for goodness within the young half-orc so he took the young Cor under his wing as a squire. So it came to pass that Cor became a might Paladin of Heironious and fought evil and defended those that need help, even though he might not expect such kindness in return because of hit heritige.
dorkknight23 10-10-03, 02:53 AM	I'm quite amused by this topic. Not long ago, I played Drak (he prefered Draco) a half-orc rogue who's highest stats were his intelligence and charisma, his lowest being strength (the unlucky roller I am, I got a 7, boosted to a 9.) Draco's parents were both adventures, his mother a very intelligent human thief, and his father a proud orc warrior who were both very much in love. His grandfather was chieftan, and when he died, his father reluctantly stepped into power. His father died in a "freak hunting accident" that put his and his mother's position in the tribe into question. Draco (he hated his orc name) became very ruthless and manipulative because of it, he tried to always come off from a position of strength, and seriously knew how to deal with people. Unfortunately, that campaign ended a while ago, and Draco never got to really shine, but I liked him a lot more than the traditional "Krog smash!" half-orc barbarian. So, yeah, I'm not fond of half-orc sterotypes.
Simpi 10-11-03, 02:38 PM	Originally posted by Tiara Brightsaber That makes me think (a dangerous past-time) if elves sees humans (ie really ugly) the way humans see orcs? Then again, there seem to be alot of half elves running around whose parents actually liked each other so maybe not. On several fantasy worlds the elves just seem somehow sterile, unable to breed or just bored about the whole thought. I quess this mainly extends to male members of the society, forcing females to run around breeding with other races, thus we get large Half-Elf populations. I mean, I don't exactly remember any story of an elf male falling in love with human female. Elf female, human male we have plenty. Ok, Kitiara & Dalamar come to mind but I quess longer relationship was never planned... Back to first sentence, in my well know sci-fi miniature game, elfs are facing extinction. Reading their background, I can only conclude that it is because remaining population is too interested writing poems about the glorious inevitability of racial extinction, than engaging in bedroom activies:D I quess the problem also lies in the long living span. I mean, who would want to raise a kid when you know he/she is gonna be a teenager for something like 30 - 50 years :D
Elemental 10-11-03, 05:03 PM	Originally posted by Trydan Half-Orc is a derogatory term, like Drow. In the same way that Drow has a very specific and derogatory meaning, and is used by wood-elves to deride their dark-elf bretheren, the term Half-orc is used to put down the peoples of the <insert name here> kingdoms. Yes, they look big and mean and (to humans) ugly, but they are their own people and they keep to themselves. They are fierce and proud, marry only amongst themselves and a very loyal. They are a noble people, these so-called "Half-orcs", and encourage the divine and arcane magicks. They are enlightened and revere knowledge and education. That they know so much often makes the human neighbours nervous, and perhaps this is the source of the derision. You'd probably like the half-orcs in the Nyambe setting, then. Here's mine: In the wild frontier, survival is hard. One tribe hit upon a way to increase their chances--they kidnapped male and female orcs from neighbouring tribes, and forced them to mate with the tribesmen and women. The offspring are stronger than normal humans, and can see in the dark, giving them and their tribe a considerable edge in survival. They are revered members of the tribe, and tend to gravitate towards positions of respect and authority.