Orc

**Orcs** are a race of brutish humanoids who have renounced the gods. They have cut themselves off from their own creator and have been flourishing ever since. Their culture has developed into several military states. Each one raising their children from birth to become mighty warriors or necromancers.

## Description

Orcs are, on average, somewhere from 1,52 to 2,08 metres in height and usually weigh around 60 to 200 kilograms making them a little taller and stronger than most humanoid races.

Most orcs bear either grey or green skin tone. They have jutting jaws, prominent teeth, a sloping forehead, short fleshy noses, coarse body hair, and boar-like tusks. Orc hair is mostly black, though it greys and starts to fall out at a relatively young age.

There is little difference between the male and female orcs and they show little gender differences outside of their tusk size and the appearance of mammary glands when a females orc gives birth. Modern orc woman do wear their hair differently from their male counterparts. Preferring to grow it out and braiding it into long strands in a similar fashion to nearby females of other races.

## Abilities

Most orcs are carry enough brute strength inside of them to wrestle a Giant Death Adder. They are notoriously hard to put down. When an orc is hit by a blow that would kill any other creature, they release a massive doze of adrenaline from a second pair of adrenaline glands that allows them to keep standing. These glands can also be used in the heat of the moment to release an extra powerful finishing move.

It has been said that an orc can see perfectly in the blackness of the darkest nights, similarly to a moon elf. In the past orcs were believed to be unintelligent monsters and many fairy tales still represent this fact. Nowadays, while of course there are still some orcs that still only think with their fists, the majority of them are seen as sophisticated and intelligent people. Those of particularly high intelligence that have a high affinity for Necromancy get send to study under their local high sorcerer or at the Hilalian school of Necrotic Powers.

## Lifespan

### Childhood

Orcs have a lower lifespan than most humanoid races. When an orc is born, it is allowed to stay with its parents for the first four years of its life. After these four years they get enrolled into the Agoge, a state-run military school where the child learns to fight for himself and the state. Inside these schools bullying, intimidation, and shrewdness are encouraged. Murder and theft, while not directly encouraged, are permitted if the teachers can't find out the child is responsible.

Classes inside of the Agoge include many subjects an adult soldier needs to know. The first 6 years are almost completely dedicated to sports, swordsmanship, archery, magic, writing, and wilderness survival. In the later 6 years the subjects of military organisation, foreign languages, and history get added the curriculum. After these twelve years of education, the sixteen year old orc is ready to go into the army for the next 10 years of their life after which they can choose to stay or return to their families to chase other passions.

### Adulthood

At the age of sixteen they will be considered fully adult. An adult orc is very unlikely work an labour intensive job such as farming or building, and rather spend their time training their with other orcs or studying the magical arts. Orcs see hard labour as something for the death to do, and rather live in the moment, for their time to work will come eventually. While an orc's family is still recognised by the state, adult orcs usually only keep tabs on their parents and offspring in case something happens that would reflect back on the family's reputation.

### Death

When an orc dies for the first time he is revived from the death to serve his family as an undead thrall, just as his ancestors have done for him. During this indented servitude the undead thrall mostly does thankless jobs like polishing his family's weapons, or building a new construction for them. However don't think the orcs fear this fate. They considered it a honour to be raised as only physical fit and notable orcs get a second life. Once the 70 years of servitude have passed, the orc will have repaid his debt to his ancestors and gets to be buried besides them in his family's mausoleum. Inside of here he will be forever revered as one of the wise ancestors, and might be asked for guidance by a future descendent. When a leader of an orc tribe gets raised into undead, they get escorted by his family and tribe members to the Wastes of Ishtarr to guard the Feretory of the Dusk Lord.

## Psychology

They have poor temperaments and give easily in to their anger. Orcs generally prefer direct solutions instead of talking around the issue or avoiding it. When a problem presents itself they rarely consider more than two ways of approaching it. These solutions usually are either trying to hit it or try to raise a army that's big enough to overpower it. Because of this direct attitude orcs excel at getting results.

Orcs prefer the simple pleasures of life, such as feasting, singing, wrestling, or wild dancing over refined pursuits such as poetry or philosophy. Most orcs are free-spirited, thou they will always be loyal to the state that raised them.

In orc society it is considered a mark of pride for one to have scars. They don't look at scars as marks of shame or as unattractive blemishes, but rather as marks of their skill and bravery in battle and life.

## Culture

### Entertainment

One of the most desirable traits to an orc is physical and mental strength. Tribes regularly hold competitions of arms, sports, and magic craft to see who is the most powerful of them all. Winners are often rewarding with fame, prestige, and a feast in their name. Wrestling is a particularly popular sport, for its simple rules and display of raw power. Sword fighting championships are also popular to watch, thou some might bring an axe or an sledgehammer. Less popular are the archery competitions, as most spectators find them boring to watch, but rulers insist on keeping them as it is vital for the tribes survival to be able to shoot down a flying assailant such as a dragon or a winged kobold.

Meanwhile the nobles prefer to duel each other in war games on giant maps. These maps are usually bought from or gifted by the dwarfs, who love war games just as much, and occasionally visit the nobles to challenge them to a grand battle. Another popular competition between the nobles are sorcerous show offs, where competitors battle to see who can impress the jury the most with their spells and showmanship.

### Taboos

It is considered a great offence to ones tribe and his ancestors to just revive a sentient creature. The orc see this as cheapening the honours of Thralldom and blurring the line between slavery and indentured servitude. Any Necromancer caught reviving the free death gets exiled from his community and is forced to wander the world until he repays his sins, risking a chance to die without being buried in the family mausoleum.

Another taboo is the usage of undead thralls for combat purposes. While none denies that using a mob of thralls to overwhelm their foes would be an efficient tactic. Many orcs find it dishonourably to not fight ones own battles and fear that the use of thralls in combat would make reviving other sentient creatures, like say slain foes or resting ancestors, more acceptable to the general public, reducing the social fibre and traditions of the tribe.

### Naming Tradition

Most orcs have a short but direct first name that they gain at birth. These first names can preferably be said in a single breath such as Dûsh or Luga. Once an orc finishes his education at the Agoge, he will be granted his first title based on his personality and exploits that defines his current standing in society. As the orc grows older and achieves more notable things, he will be granted more prestigious titles that help him climb the social ladder.

The leaders of are granted special titles. These orcs rule as co-leaders of the community and usually are made out of a powerful warlord and a powerful sorcerer (usually a necromancer), who have the title of *the Strong* and *the Old*. Their titles change upon death, becoming the *Stronger* and the *Elder* *and* passing their previous title and name onto their descendant. After that descendant dies they will inherit their fathers title again and their fathers will become the *Strongest/Second Eldest*, and after the next generation passes away the previous *Stronger/Elder* will become the *Second Strongest/Third Eldest*. This processes of descending titles will go on until the bloodline is overthrow and a new one begins.

However, no sorcerer can claim the title of *the Eldest* for that belongs to the eternal Zog the Eldest, godfather to all of orc kind.

## Names

**Male names**: Akoth, Barfa, Caedmog, Dûsh, Ekenn, Feng, Gell, Holg, Ishmoz, Jaheem, Kugáluga, Lûgdash, Mhurren, Názkûga, Olgoth, Prâk, Quiglex, Ront, Shump, Thokk, Ûkshak, Wekesa, Zog

**Female names**: Akua, Baggi, Dûbáku, Engong, Folamu, Guthre, Hynn, Jelani, Kansif, Luga, Myev, Neega, Ownka, Rufar, Sutha, Tûma, Wynsush, Volen, Yevelda, Zunn

## Ingame-statistics

Your orc character has certain traits deriving from your orc ancestry.
***Ability Score Increase.*** You can increase one of your ability scores by 2, and another one by 1. These increases can’t raise a score above 20.
***Darkvision.*** Thanks to your orc blood, you have superior vision in dark and dim conditions. You can see in dim light within 60 feet of you as if it were bright light, and in darkness as if it were dim light. You can't discern colour in darkness, only shades of grey.
***Menacing.*** You gain proficiency in the Intimidation skill.
***Relentless Endurance.*** When you are reduced to 0 hit points but not killed outright, you can drop to 1 hit point instead. You can't use this feature again until you finish a long rest.
***Savage Attacks.*** When you score a critical hit with a melee weapon attack, you can roll one of the weapon's damage dice one additional time and add it to the extra damage of the critical hit.
***Languages.*** You can speak, read, and write Common and Orc. Orc is a harsh, grating language with hard consonants. It has no script of its own but is written in the Draconic script.