Brutal, barbaric, brash, stupid, slow, sickening. All common feelings folks might have for a half-orc. Likewise, a player might turn their nose up at being so pigeonholed. Who wants to just be a dumb brute? But does something like a half-orc deserve this reputation? Does it have merit? Surely a mix of man and orc can only produce a lesser human and be nothing as deep as a half-elf, right? This post will dispel such notions, and by the end, you’ll be itching to give them a chance. Get ready to be schooled. Because if you’re not killing it, you’re not playing it to the hilt.
Half-orcs have a sordid history, both in-game and out. Their initial implications were that they were the result of very “aggressive affection” between an orc and a human. More sensitive people might reject them on that alone, as would many people in-game. That needn’t be the case. Orcs are aggressive as a people. Their wicked impulses and need to destroy is powerful and while they are known for dull wits, they aren’t completely stupid. They have a language all their own, they have rites and rituals to follow their deity (Gruumsh, who you might also revere), and a tribal structure. What this means is, when humans tribes interact with orcish ones, an alliance is not impossible. They have the sense to know that strong parents make for strong children. With few exceptions, an orc is willing to breed with just about anything. Likewise, Humans might see it as an opportunity to gain something just as strong as an orc, but with more levelheadedness. Regardless of the manner your orc came to be, the means of your birth will hang over your head, even if it was under consensual conditions. Unlike with a half-elf, you’re a stark reminder of the dangers in the wilderness. Civilized folk might not say it to your face, but their nervousness and unwillingness to make eye contact tells you everything anyway. This can paint your world with a shade of loneliness that’s different from a half-elf’s. At least for them, the humans might be more accepting of them. For you, they just don’t want you there, or worse still, they wish you were dead or not even born to begin with. Expressing this is relatively easy. You are weighed down by the negativity you’ve endured all your life, but while you don’t let it stop you, you are still burnt out and exhausted. Speaking in a gruff, monotone manner, along with some exasperated sighs when things get more troublesome, gets the message across. You are at risk of sounding like an angsty teenager, but practice makes perfect. Although, if you were raised more among the uncivilized tribes, you might be quite the opposite, right? Your strength might be lauded by your human family and friends. Unfortunately, with the orcs you’re scrutinized a bit more. Oh, they’ll accept you alright, IF you’re as strong as they are or stronger. Throughout a year, younger orcs will interrupt your day for a challenge of some sort and if you want to save face, you must take them on. In either event, you can be left exhausted from conflict, so the previous advice on exhaustion stands, but you might be overjoyed at each challenge. Either way, you might adventure just to escape this type of nonsense. But before moving on, if you want to play to the hero of the tribe, you’re much more likely to have a “tough guy” attitude. Strength has garnered you praise and it fixes your problems, so judging others similarly is almost a forgone conclusion. During interactions, ice-breaker questions might be, “So… how much do you lift?” or you might make a friendly wager over arm wrestling with the loser buying the winner drinks. As with everything else. Don’t overdo it, but enjoy pretending to be a meat head.
Next, we discuss what really drives the heart of every half-orc. After all, if they experience the conflict of being part human and part orc, what’s the upside? Sheer. Physical. Might. They don’t have the running power native to orcs. They don’t have the versatility of humans. They have the happy, murderous middle ground of sheer. Physical. Might. That endurance for running of an orc might be diminished, but the human spirit repurposes and transforms it. No pure orc can be nearly as savage as a half-orc can with a weapon in their hands. No pure orc can suffer the damage a half-orc can and keep on fighting. No normal human can easily reach your levels of strength. The downside (and upside) of this is you can be, and probably are, much more reckless than others. A halfling might be brave in the face of unknown danger, but your overconfidence says, “there’s no danger that you can’t handle.” A fun way to play into this is to be the guy to stand up to a hulking monster (though I don’t recommend being too reckless if you don’t want to die.) If you do end up dropping, but not dying, you can boast that you still won, claiming that he couldn’t even beat you in one hit, so he was clearly weak. In the very least, you got some battle scars out of it. In fact, the more scars you have, the better. Each one is a story in its own right, each one is a testament to your stamina. Make up a few short stories to tell, or at least have the details in mind for your scars. Scars over the eye are always striking. Perhaps you have one or two scars over the bridge of your nose. Do you hide one you got from, say, falling off a horse? Do you lie about how you got it? It’s hard to go wrong about how things went south.
Regardless, such a tense life isn’t easy to cope with. Often times, it can feel like a lose-lose scenario, even if you are the victor in your tribe or you make your strength useful in a city. The constant need to prove yourself of being either a monster or a man can eventually break ever a hearty half-orc. Who can he visit to not only escape, not only live “respectably”, but also funnel that fury inside? Gruumsh. Gruumsh, for better or worse, offers that outlet. He delights in the success of all his children and whether a half-orc knows it or not, they can sense his influence. If they heed it, they may soon find themselves in the presence of orcs, half-orcs, and other followers of Gruumsh. Unlike in a strictly orcish tribe, the need to prove one’s strength might be more formal, even for such a chaotic deity. Weakness is to be culled indeed, but instead of totally random surprise attacks, the challenges might be to slay or capture a notoriously strong beast, elf, dwarf, or human, to win in a gladiatorial arena, or to dominate a tribe of other creatures. It you chose to hunt an elf or dwarf, it may be more amicable to the party to aim for drow or duergar. This is a slight cop out, because the goodly elves and dwarves are Gruumsh’s enemies, but drow and duergar tend to be more dangerous and therefore worthy tests of strength. Participating in a gladiatorial arena is a bit of a tall order on your Dungeon Master, but if the rest of the party is interested, he should have no problem working something into the campaign. Finally, targeting a tribe for subjugation, or better still, conversion, is best done with an aimlessly evil tribe of marauders or bandits. Your good aligned party members won’t necessarily object to slaying such degenerates, so rounding up the survivors to serve your temple won’t be especially challenging. If your party needs convincing, suggest they’d be more useful later and that’s the best place for them to stay. After all, it’s worked wonders for you!
Turmoil, both inside and out, mighty strength stemming from reckless wrath, and an uneasy ally in the divine gives half-orcs far more depth and drama than meets the eye. Their complicated lives make for an excellent expression of an enduring hero who is burnt out or the local legend living large. Think back to this article when you consider a half-orc character. It just might bring out an unforgettable character. Because if you’re not killing it, you’re not playing it to the hilt.
-The Clark Side