Orcs

The most subjugated of all races in Ataksar, orcs are a race foreign to Ataksar, enslaved and taken away from their homeland of wild Kharag to the west.

## Appearance

Orcs are typically green skinned, stand at at least 6 feet and weigh around 250 pounds. On rare occasions, an orc is born with different skin pigments, such as greys, whites and reds. They often have pronounced fangs and a muscular build. Orcs have a lifespan of around 80 years. Orcs are almost always seen with facial runic tattoos if they were ever Dwarven slaves.

## Locations

Since the orcs enslavement by the elves, they have spread across the continent. Most of the free orcs have fled north to Bodel or to Keckbog where a haven is rumored to exist. Most of the orcs in the dwarvish surface cities are enslaved, and you would be hard pressed to find a free orc in Grinna.

## Society

All Levastian orcs are either slaves, freed slaves, or descendants of slaves. Many of them have never seen the land they originated from, and over the centuries of their enslavement their culture has been deflated to a mockery of true Kharagar orcish culture. Of the few customs that remain, one of the most known is the value orcs place on strength, wit and fierceness. A group of orcs is usually led by the most capable combatant among them, generally a middle aged orc who is still able to keep up with young challengers while possessing enough experience to be respected by his or her elders.

Freed orcs are few and far between, but are generally found in Levast working as mercenaries or body guards.

## History

The orcs lived in large tribes in the vast landscapes of Kharag before the elves arrived in Kharag to enslave some of them living on the eastern coast. Since 2450, orcs have lived in fear of elvish slavers, and have been hard pressed to rebuke them. Despite being hunted for so long, the orcs maintained their rainforest homes and populations until the elves were forced to flee. After this occurred, the level of enslavement decreased significantly, causing a rebound in the orc population.

## Religion

Aside from the importance of strength, another core belief that orcs hold is that life is precious if strong and always worth fighting for. Orcs who are proficient in magic are viewed as sages and shamans and take on a spiritual leadership role among tribes and groups. These gurus act as advisors and doctors for the rest of the tribe and also are responsible for providing divination services to those who seek it. They believe their magic stems from life energy, as such, orcish magic users treat their bodies like temples to keep it clean and pure for efficient magic manipulation. They also have the ability to use their own life energy and others’ although this is considered taboo.

## Interesting Lore

Orcs are a subrace of the Gorgons, which means they are related to goblins, trolls, and ogres. Orcs have a written language that if correctly used, must contain different colors and shades in order to convey full and clear ideas. Because of this orcs place a heavy value on different colors. Green is associated with ideas like nature, home and family while red is meant for things like war, death, sex and strong emotion. Orcs have a keen sense of smell, they can remember smells of things they have encountered before and associate them years later, and pick up on the scents of beasts and other creatures from up to a quarter mile away depending on wind conditions.

## Traits (D&D 5.0 Conversion)

***Ability Score Increase.***Increase your Strength score by 2 and your Constitution score by 1

***Age.***Orcs mature faster than humans, reaching physical adulthood by the age of 14. The average orc lifespan lasts about 80 years.

***Alignment.*** Any

***Size.*** Orcs are large and bulky standing between 5 to well over 6 feet tall. Character size is medium.

***Speed.***Base speed is 30 feet, or six squares.

***Darkvision.*** Orcs have superior vision in dark and dim conditions. In dim light you can see within 60 feet as if it were bright light, and in darkness as if it were dim light. Color is not perceived, only shades of gray.

***Menacing.*** Orcs are proficient in the Intimidate skill.

***Relentless Endurance.*** When reduced to 0 hit points but not killed outright, you can instead drop to 1 hit point. You can't use this feature again until you complete a long rest.

***Savage Attacks.***  When you score a critical hit with a melee weapon attack, you may roll an additional damage die and add the extra damage to the critical hit.

***Languages.*** Orcs begin play speaking, reading, and writing Orcish. Particularly bright orcs pick up ion the languages of their captors and oppressors. Thus they may also learn Dwarvish and Elvish.