Orcs

in: Races

## Introduction

The Orcish people are nomads by nature, traveling the mountains and high places of the world. They are beings that are most often thought to be stupid and dull, but those who spend some time among them often find them to be quite different from the legends that are told of them. Contrary to popular belief Orcs are not stupid by nature. They are however savage and hold very different things to be important when compared to the world's 'civilized' races. Putting more importance into the areas of personal honor and victory. The Orcs are a people that fight for their lives every day from the moment they are born. Orcs fight among themselves and the other races of the world to lay claim to the lands within which they travel. Though there are many different types of Orc from the Grey Orcs of the Mountains to the Green Orcs of the lower hills. While they fight for different things, they are all eager to prove themselves in battle. Fighting for personal glory, status, and proof they deserve whatever position it is they seek. Regardless of anything else... Orcs are known to simply like to fight.

## The Basics

* **Other Names:** Greenskin
* **Appearance:** Orcs are large and muscular creatures built to fight. They can have green to gray skin with bright green, yellow or red eyes. Hair is typically black. Both males and females have tusks, though females tend to have smaller tusks.
* **Lifespan:** 100 Years
* **Height:** 160 cm (5'3") to 200 cm (6'8")
* **Regions Found:** Hills and Mountainous areas.
* **Culture:** Orcs believe that battle is a prayer and bloodshed is an offering to their ancient gods and ancestors. Those gods have many names, and yet no names. At least none that the Orcs record. Ancestors are considered to be sacred and even beings worth praying to. Fighting to prove themselves to their mysterious gods or spirits, Orc shamans are the religious leaders of their people. Grand rituals and battles that might take more than a week are known to be marks of an Orc holiday. Given their love and drive for battle, the Orcs have walked countless battlefields throughout their existence. They are a race of warriors and were they not so willing to fight one another would pose a serious threat to the world as a whole.
* **Common Character Roles:** Barbarian, Chieftain (male), Shaman (female), Slaver
* **Common Allies:** Goblins
* **Common Enemies:** Civilized Races, Dwarves, Humans
* **Architecture:** Camps and simple structures.
* **Religion:** Nameless Ancient Gods and Ancestors
* **Views on Magic:** Relatively common among Shamans
* **Abilities:** Bloodlust
* **Weaknesses:** If they are once again defeated in another PvP intent, the Orc suffers from Severe Injuries and is injured for 6 ours and unable to fight again until they are healed.
* Quirks: Greedy, selfish, destructive, and violent.

## Appearances

Orcs are large and muscular creatures. Strong and rough, their skin is thick and leathery while their hair is often coarse and rough. The Orcish people are very well built, standing taller than most other races with broad, thick frames. Men and women alike have the build of warriors, with very few orcs being agile and none but the most unfortunate being slender. Female Orcs are well built for motherhood, quick reproduction being a necessity in their brutal society. Both genders are tusked with sharp teeth with males having larger tusks than their female counterparts. Like their distant cousins the Goblin, Orcs are green skinned with a range from green to brown. Grey Orcs are also known to exist in distant caves or high peaks. The very rarest of Orcs is so dark a green that they may as well be black as night. These Orcs are often a sign of turmoil and change. The eyes of the average orc are a bright green though they've been known to share aspects with the goblins including yellow or red eyes. Very rarely is an orc born with blue eyes. Orcs have very dark hair. Most would say they are all black haired, though a faint shade can be found if one looks close. A very dark red, green, blue, or brown are the most common when it comes to other coloration, it is very nearly black. The shade is only notable on close inspection.

## History

For centuries Orcs have lived as their ancestors did among rocky hills and mountain crags. However in the last fifty years the Orcish population has exploded. Leading to mountain regions teeming with massive hordes of Orcs eager for battle and blood. With the limited resources of their mountain homes this has pushed the Orcs to become more violent and aggressive than they have in the past. In the South mountains where the Southern Dwarves have ruled for generations, the Orcs waged bloody war. The Dwarves of the south are not a people of the past, those who survived the bloody massacres of their homes and halls have fled from the south to join their kin in various other areas of the world. Securing the dwarven holds for their own people to dwell within. The Orcs gathered a large number of clans from all over the world. Strengthening their positions before marching down from the mountains to attack Nocturnim itself. The war between Orc and Human still rages to this day, though it is not constant; there are grand bouts of savagery and violence ever springing forth between the two nations.

In the North, the Orc’s cousins have joined forces with Goblins, waging their own bloody war against the dwarves in the northern mountains. Not as successful as their southern kin, the war still rages on with the Dwarves determined to keep the Orcs at bay and keep their people alive. Grand swarms of Land Goblins now pile into Dwarf tunnels, cutting their way into the domains of the Dwarves and being fought back time and again. The Nords have recently, however, joined forces with the dwarves and now fight alongside them. Pushing back against the green tide and their reckless pursuit of glory and power. In the north it is rumored as well that the Orcs delve into darker means. Working alongside Simiku shamans and shapers of flesh to create something far more terrifying than the savage strength of Orc alone.

## Culture

Orcs believe that battle is a prayer and bloodshed is an offering to their ancient gods and ancestors. Those gods have many names, and yet no names. At least none that the Orcs record. Ancestors are considered to be sacred and even beings worth praying to. Fighting to prove themselves to their mysterious gods or spirits, Orc shamans are the religious leaders of their people. Grand rituals and battles that might take more than a week are known to be marks of an Orc holiday. Given their love and drive for battle, the Orcs have walked countless battlefields throughout their existence. They are a race of warriors and were they not so willing to fight one another would pose a serious threat to the world as a whole. Orcs believe that what they have won in battle is theirs forever. Whether it is glory, treasure, or even slaves. The most prolific slavers in the known world, Orcs are known and feared among the civilized races. The Orcish people work and fight as a whole. Male and Female orcs are both warriors. Though women often hold a more respectful position in their society and are more likely to be shamans. They are powerful warriors in their own right. Though only Male orcs are likely to become Chieftains, there have been a few notable female Chieftains throughout history. Orcs prefer to dominate their mates, fighting to determine who is superior to the other. Though they bond for life when they choose a mate, an Orc can have any number of slaves. Though no Orc would ever willingly place themselves in servitude as a matter of pride.

In the South, the Orcs maintain a great deal of their traditional attitudes. Seeking glory and battle for the enjoyment and furthering of their own stories. Their own tales, left behind after they die, are what bring an Orc, in their opinion, to live among the Ancestors and become immortal gods and spirits themselves. Living in traditional families and fighting alongside one another, the Orcs have become even more tight knit than they had before. In the North however, the failures of the Orcs to claim the dwarven lands for themselves have driven them to more and more desperate matters. These Orcs have taken to battle and bloodshed for the sake of violence and aggression over the need for pride and story. They have lost a large amount of their people’s original attitudes and turned to aggression instead. Violent and aggressive… They resemble the savagery that has always been rumored to be the way of their people.

## Racial Relations

The Orcs have no fear of other races, not even the walking dead bring fear into the heart of an Orc. They fight and battle for glory and pride. Such battles against creatures beyond the mortal realm are not something to fear, but something to find glory and purpose in. Among the other races of the world, Orcs have a particular distaste for the Dwarves. They see any creature that would spend so much time creating to be strange and different. So it is that when their numbers exploded, they marched upon the cities of the Dwarves. The bloody conflict with the dwarves in both the North and the South has created ever greater hatred between the two races. In addition to this… Nords and the men of Nocturnim have turned to their own hatred of the Orcs over their own wars with the greenskins. In contrast to these hatreds, The Caledonii have turned to an alliance of sorts with the Orcs. Fighting alongside each other in their own wars and working to aid each other’s fights against the Nocturnim on one side, and the Wood Elves on the other. In the North, the Orcs have made tentative agreements with the Simiku as well, though one cannot say they hold any particular love for one another.

## Perception of Magic

Orcs are not the most fond of Magic in the traditional ways that many races of the world appreciate. However Orcs see their Shamans in a different light than they see any other sort of magic user. Shamans call upon the spirits of the world to do terrible things to their enemies. Cracking the ground, burning fortifications and shattering lines of shimmering men in their polished plate is the work of the spirits as far as the Orcs are concerned. The magic of an Orc is a brutal thing with little finesse. Giant boulders, burning flames, or some horrid combination of the two are the most common among Orcish magic users. Fire and Earth are their preferred spheres though they have been known to wield wind magic on occasion for the purposes of calling down lightning upon their foes.

## Racial Traits & Weaknesses

### Bloodlust

Orcs are an unusually hardy race of tough unyielding creatures. Their bloodlust drives them to fight even when they shouldn't. After being defeated and issued consequences for their loss an Orc is still injured as normal. After the scene in which they were injured, if they suffer from another PvP intent they are able to join the fight rather than flee or surrender. If they are once again defeated, the orc suffers from Severe Injuries and is injured for 6 hours and unable to fight again until they are healed. If they are once again defeated in another PvP intent, the Orc suffers from Severe Injuries and is injured for 6 hours and unable to fight again until they are healed.

#### **RPR Stats**

* **Target(s):** Self
* **Dice Modifier(s)**: Strength
* **Difficulty Class:** Fixed (1)
* **Cost(s):** None
* **Effect(s):** The user fuels their drive to fight, allowing them to enter a pvp intent while injured.
* **Cooldown:** 24 hours

## Attachments & Kit Items:

The items listed in the kits below are made with the Season 6 modlist. They have been updated as of **14th December 2023**.

*Expand for Orc Racial Kit*

## Lore Contribution

> **Credit for Lore Contribution:**
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