Orc

## Sons of Fury

The orcs of Ostra tell a story. Ages ago, they say, the orcish race was savage, brutal, and locked in a vicious blood feud that nearly destroyed them. They heeded only the fury that was in their blood, and treated one another as animals. As the twilight of their race was upon them, and destruction was about to claim them, one young orc named Koreth Gall found himself fighting in a battle, one clan against another, on Mount Assos. As the battle raged, there upon the heights, he had a vision. A vision of two great wolves, fighting one another in the snow. One was foaming at the mouth, rabid. It was bloated from eating. The other, sleek and beautiful, its head erect and its eyes clear. However, this second wolf was withered, starved, its ribs showing through its pelt, and the first had it at its mercy. Koreth heard a voice, "Thus is your race. Ever locked in struggle, between the wolf of fury and the wolf of discipline. For centuries the wolf of fury has been fed. If it is not starved, soon it will devour the other completely." At that moment, the fury and the rage left Koreth. His head cleared of its pounding, and the blood in his heart cooled. He felt the wind on his face, and the serenity of the Mountain. And he threw down his weapons and called to his brothers.

Though many heard his call, and followed him, most of the others continued their savage warfare. From that moment on, half of their race starved the wolf of fury, while the other half let it gorge.

Whether or not this story is true, it remains the case that the orcish race is divided between the wild, almost feral orcs of the wilderlands, and the (relatively) peaceful and honor-bound Orcs of the Heartlands. The Orcholds of Palagos are an example of the potential which faces the race, so long as it can keep its blood-fury in check.

## Racial Features

Orcs use the Half-Orc stat block from the Player's Handbook.

In addition to the racial features listed there, Orcs receive the following benefits:

**Ancient Fury**: In battle, you fight with the fire of the God of Wrath. Once per long rest, on your turn, you can enter a rage as a Bonus Action. While raging, you gain the following benefits:

* You have advantage on Strength checks and Strength saving throws.
* When you make a melee weapon Attack using Strength, you gain a +2 bonus to the damage roll.
* You have resistance to nonmagical bludgeoning, piercing, and slashing damage.
* If you are able to cast Spells, you can't cast them or concentrate on them while raging.

Your rage lasts for 1 minute. It ends early if you are knocked Unconscious or if your turn ends and you haven't attacked a hostile creature since your last turn or taken damage since then. You can also end your rage on your turn as a Bonus Action.

This rage does not stack with the Barbarian class's Rage Feature. That class ability supersedes this racial ability.

**Honorbound**: An Orc's devotion to honor can drive him to greater effort. An Orc character has an Honor Pool equal to 1/2 his character level (Rounded Up) + his Charisma Modifier (Minimum of 1). An Orc can spend any amount of his Honor to add to +1 for each point spent to any of his Attack Rolls or Charisma Ability Checks (Performance, Persuasion, Intimidation, Deception). He must announce that he is spending Honor in this way, and the amount spent, before he learns the result of the roll.

An Orc regains spent Honor in the following ways:

* 1 point per long rest
* 1 point when he kills an enemy, or knocks him unconscious
* 1 point when he scores a critical hit

NOTE: An orc can never regain more than his Honor Point maximum.