Orc

Orc

Deep Orcs

To feel the thunder of orcish war drums outside the gate and to hear the chorus of voices growling, "Gruumsh!" is the nightmare of every civilized place in the world of Vynn. For no matter how thick its walls, skilled its archers, or brave its knights, few settlements have ever withstood a full-scale onslaught of orcs.

Every soldier who lives through a fight with orcs tells of confronting a hulking foe that can cleave through a warrior with a single blow, part of a force that can cut down enemies as though they were trembling stalks of wheat before the scythe. Only a skilled and determined hero can hope to survive single combat with an orc..

## **Savage and Fearless**

Savage and fearless, orc tribes are ever in search of elves, dwarves, and humans to destroy. Motivated by their hatred of the civilized races of the world of Vynn and their need to satisfy the demands of their deities, the orcs know that if they fight well and bring glory to their tribe, Gruumsh will call them home to the plane of Acheron.

It is there in the afterlife where the chosen ones will join Gruumsh and his armies in their endless extraplanar battle for supremacy

## **Godsworn**

Orcs believe their gods to be invincible. They see the principles that define them and their deities at work every day in the world around them - nature rewards the strong and mercilessly eliminates the weak and the infirm. Orcs don't revere their gods as much as they fear them; every tribe has their superstitions about how to avert their wrath or bring their favor. This deep-seated uncertainty and fear comes forth in the form of savagery and relentlessness, as orcs ravage and kill to appease the gods in order to avoid their terrible retribution.

At the pinnacle of the Orc pantheon is Gruumsh One Eye, who created the orcs and continues to direct their destiny. He is aided and abetted by the other warrior deities, Bahgtru and Illneval, who bring strength and cunning to the battlefield. The followers of all three gods are a tribe's raiders and ravagers - often the only part of an orc tribe that its victims ever see.

Deep within the den of a tribe, far away from the war hearth where warriors gather and celebrate, dwell the followers of Yurtrus, the god of disease and death, and Shargaas, the god of darkness and the unknown. Orcs too weak for battle (because of bodily weakness, malformation, injury, or age) often join these cults instead of facing daily humiliation, exile, or death.

Serving as the bridge between the two parts of the tribe are the priestesses of Luthric, the orc goddess who represents both life and the grave. It is her worshippers that raise young orcs to be warriors, and then, at the end of their lives, take them to Yurtrus and Shargaas to be carried into death and the great unknown.

## **Survival of the Fittest**

Among Orcs, any adult who can’t contribute to the tribe is exiled. A lone Orc has little chance of survival, especially an older or weaker one. Orcs have little pity for adults who can’t take care of themselves..

A permanently injured Orc is still expected to pull his or her weight in the tribe. Typically, such an Orc dies attempting to keep up, or the Orc slips away in the night to seek the cold will of fate.

In some ways, the Orc drive to outdo themselves feeds into the grim inevitability of their decline and death. An Orc would much rather die in battle, at the peak of strength and skill, than endure the slow decay of old age. Few folk have ever meet an elderly Orc in battle, and even those Orcs who have left their people grapple with the urge to give up their lives as their physical skills decay.

Because of their risk-taking, Orc tribes suffer from a chronic lack of the experience offered by long-term leaders. They hope for innate strength in their leadership, for they can rarely count on strength in old age.

## **Orc Names**

Orcs have guttural sounding names with lots of hard consonants. Orc names don't always have meaning in the Orc language, and most noteworthy orcs are given epithets by their tribe mates. Choose from the following suggestions or come up with one of your own:

**Male Orc Names:** Abzug, Bajok, Dench, Feng, Gell, Grutok, Henk, Holg, Imsh, Jahrukk, Keth, Krusk, Lortar, Mhurren, Mobad, Mugrub, Rhorog, Ront, Ruhk, Shamog, Shugog, Shump, Thokk, Urzul

**Female Orc Names:** Baggi, Emen, Engong, Kansif, Myev, Neega, Ovak, Ownka, Shautha, Sutha, Vola, Volen, Yevelda

**Epithets.** The Filthy, Skull Cleaver, Eye Gouger, Iron Tusk, Skin Flayer, Bone Crusher, Flesh Ripper, Doom Hammer, Elf Butcher, Spine Snapper, Death Spear, The Brutal

## **Orc Traits**

Orcs have the following Natural Abilities:

**Ability Score Increase.** Your Constitution score increases by 2 and your intelligence score decreases by 1.

**Age.** Orcs reach adulthood at age 12 and live up to 50 years.

**Alignment.** Orcs are vicious raiders, who believe that the world should be theirs. They also respect strength above all else and believe the strong must bully the weak to ensure that weakness does not spread like a disease. They are usually chaotic evil.

**Size.** Orcs are usually over 6 feet tall and weigh between 230 and 280 pounds. Your size is Medium.

**Speed.** Your base walking speed is 30 feet.

**Darkvision.** 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 color in darkness, only shades of gray.

**Aggressive.** As a bonus action, you can move up to your speed toward an enemy of your choice that you can see or hear. You must end this move closer to the enemy than you started.

**Primal Intuition.** You have proficiency in two of the following skills of your choice: Animal Handling, Insight, Intimidation, Medicine, Nature, Perception, and Survival.

**Powerful Build.** You count as one size larger when determining your carrying capacity and the weight you can push, drag, or lift.

**Languages.** You can speak, read, and write Common and Orc.

**Subrace.** The following three subraces for Orcs exist throughout the world of Vynn: Gray Orcs, Mountain Orcs, and Deep Orcs. Choose one of these subraces.

## **Gray Orc**

Gray Orcs live in huge fortress cities in the Eastern parts of The Southern Continent and choose two handed martial weapons more often than not. They often go on large conquests to add even more land to their vast empire.

**Ability Score Increase.** Your Strength Score increases by 2.

**Pious.** You gain proficiency in the Religion skill.

**Bloodfury.** The scent of your blood in the heat of a battle enrages you. While you are below half your maximum hit points you may use your action make a special melee attack against one creature within your reach, striking with vicious ferocity. If your attack hits, you gain a number of temporary hit points equal to your Constitution modifier, and the target must make a Wisdom saving throw (DC equals 8 + your Proficiency bonus + your Constitution modifier) or be frightened of you until the end of its next turn. Once you use this trait, you can’t do so again until you finish a short or long rest.

**Horde Vengeance.** You can use your action to make a special melee attack against a creature who reduced an allied humanoid to 0 hit points during their last turn, using your Bloodfury trait regardless of your hitpoint total and without expending your single use of Bloodfury.

## **Mountain Orc**

Mountain Orcs never stay in one place for long. They live in large tents that they can fold up and take with them whenever they move camp. They prefer to use more finesse style weapons rather than great axes and Warhammers like their Gray brethren.

**Ability Score Increase.** Your Dexterity score increases by 2 and your Strength score decreases by 1.

**Musclebound.** You gain proficiency in the Athletics Skill. Your proficiency bonus is doubled for any Strength (Athletics) ability check you make to initiate, maintain, or break free of a grapple.

**Charging Pin.** When you use your bonus action to move as a part of the Aggressive trait, as a part of that bonus action you may try to grapple a creature that is large or smaller in your path. Make an Athletics contest with the creature. If you succeed, you crash into the creature. Both you and the creature are knocked prone. The creature is also grappled and takes bludgeoning damage equal to half your level + your Strength modifier. On a failed contest you miss and land prone 10 feet past the creature.

## **Deep Orc**

Exiled to the Underdark long ago, Deep Orcs rely on their sense of hearing and smell to get around. Blinded by years without direct sunlight, they have to get around using senses other than their sight.

**Ability Score Increase.** Your Strength or Constitution score increases by 1.

**Blinded.** You gain advantage on perception checks that do not rely on sight. Any Perception check that does rely on sight is an automatic fail.

**Deep Denizen.** Deep Orcs have seen true fear in the depths, and chose to charge into it, not away. You may choose to instead succeed on one failed saving throw against being frightened. Once you use this trait, you can’t do so again until you finish a long rest.

**Darkforged.** Deep Orcs train from an early age at their tribal forges. You are proficient in smith's tools. In addition, when using your smith's tools to craft a weapon or piece of armor you may increase the cost of the item by 25 gp to add hooks, sharp edges and spikes to the crafted item. Creatures that are not Deep Orcs are not proficient in using this equipment. You may craft the following equipment.

* **Serrated Armor.** While wearing serrated armor that you are proficient with, when you use the Attack action to grapple a creature, or when a creature attempts to escape your grapple, the creature takes piercing damage equal to half your proficiency bonus if you win the Athletics contest.
* **Rending Weapon.** If you have advantage on an attack roll with a rending weapon you are proficient with, you may choose to forgo the benefit of the advantage to attempt to rend a creature with the jagged edges of your weapon. If you hit, the target’s walking speed is reduced by half.

In addition, when a rended creature walks, they take 1 piercing damage for every 5 feet they move. Other forms of movement (fly, burrow, swim, etc.) aren’t affected. The speed reduction ends when the target receives a DC 12 Medicine check, receives healing, or after 24 hours, whatever comes first. A rending attack does not slow creatures that are immune to piercing or slashing damage.