Half-orc
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
| This article may not meet a proposed guideline for notability (see Wikipedia:Notability (fiction)). If you are familiar with the subject matter, please expand or rewrite the article to establish its notability. The best way to address this concern is to reference published, third-party sources about the subject. If notability cannot be established, the article is more likely to be considered for redirection, merge or ultimately deletion, per Wikipedia:Guide to deletion. This article has been tagged since February 2008. |
 |
This D&D-related article or section describes an aspect of Dungeons & Dragons in a primarily in-universe style. Please rewrite this article or section to explain the fiction more clearly and provide non-fictional perspective. |
 |
This article or section includes a list of references or external links, but its sources remain unclear because it lacks in-text citations. You can improve this article by introducing more precise citations. |
 |
The introduction to this article provides insufficient context for those unfamiliar with the subject. Please help improve the article with a good introductory style. |
| Dungeons & Dragons creature | |
|---|---|
| Half-orc | |
| Alignment | |
| Type | |
| Source books | |
| First appearance | |
The half-orc is a creature born to mixed orc and human parentage in the Dungeons & Dragons role-playing game. The half-orc is a playable race for D&D player characters. Half-orcs are typically born in wild frontiers where human and orc tribes come into contact. Half-orcs are between six and seven feet tall and usually weigh between 180 and 250 pounds. Half-orcs have greenish skin, jutting jaws, prominent teeth and coarse body hair. Half-orcs also occasionally occur in Middle-earth, in the works of J. R. R. Tolkien[1].
Contents |
[edit] Traits
Half-orc characters receive a +2 modifier to strength and -2 modifiers to intelligence and charisma ability scores. Half-orcs have darkvision up to 60 feet. They have orc blood and are susceptible to special effects that affect orcs. They can use orc-only items. All half-orcs speak common and orc; they may also speak Draconic, Giant, Gnoll, Goblin, and Abyssal, and, in the rare cases of half-orcs with high intelligence, the languages of their allies or rivals. The orc language has no alphabet and uses Dwarven script. Orc writing is found most often in graffiti.
The half-orc's favored character class is the barbarian. The half-orc personality tends to be short tempered, sullen, and prone to action rather than thought. Half-orcs prefer simple pleasures: feasting, singing, wrestling and wild dancing. They have no interest in refined pursuits such as high art and philosophy. Half-orcs tend towards chaotic alignments, but have no clear preference towards good or evil. Half-orcs raised and living among orcs are more likely to be evil.
[edit] Culture
Due to their orcish blood, half-orcs are on poor terms with some of the other races. Relations are particularly troubled with elves and dwarves, due to racial enmity between orcs and these races. It's not to say that it's impossible for a half-orc to find camaraderie with an elf or a dwarf, however; dwarves in particular are willing to befriend half-orcs who have proven themselves worthy of a dwarf's trust. Half-elves tend to be sympathetic toward half-orcs, knowing the hardships of being an outcast from both of their parent races. Halflings and gnomes are generally accepting of half-orcs and happily interact with them. Half-orcs adopt different attitudes to gain acceptance from those who are wary of their orcish heritage. Some are reserved, some demonstrate public virtue, while others force acceptance through physical intimidation. Half-orcs living among humans may choose human names in order to fit in, or orcish names to intimidate others.
Half-orcs have no native lands; they most often live among orcs. When not living among orc tribes, half-orcs almost always live in human lands, as humans are more accepting of half-orcs than other races.
Many half-orcs worship Gruumsh, the chief orcish deity. Half-orc barbarians may worship Gruumsh as a war god even if they are not evil aligned. Half-orcs who identify with their human heritage follow human deities, and may engage in outspoken displays of piety to gain acceptance and solidify their bond to humans.
Half-orcs are frequently rejected by civilized society. They are drawn to violent careers suitable to their temperament and physical strength. They often find companionship among adventurers, many of whom are fellow wanderers and outsiders.
[edit] Roleplaying
Half-orcs are usually portrayed as indefinite outsiders, being too contemplative and thoughtful to exist well in orcish society but far too wild and short-tempered to live amongst humans, forcing them into adventuring.
Half-orc characters often have characteristics of an anti-hero.
[edit] Out-of Game History
Half-orcs have been a part of Dungeons&Dragons since its first edition. However, in second edition they were largely removed from the basic rules, as part of a wide attempt by TSR to remove controversial topics from D&D (as part of the same move, demons and devils were renamed tanar'ri and baatezu, respectively, among other changes). With Wizard of the Coast's takeover of D&D and the release of 3rd Edition, half-orcs were reintroduced into the series. They were removed again most recently in the 4th edition.
[edit] References
- Moore, Roger E. "Half-Orcs" Dragon #62 (TSR, 1982).
- Slavicsek, Bill. The Complete Book of Humanoids (TSR, 1993).
- Tweet, Jonathan; Cook, Monte; Williams, Skip (2003). Player's Handbook Core Rulebook I v.3.5. Wizards of the Coast, Inc.
