ORC SOCIETY

 

Orcs believe that to survive, they must conquer as much territory as possible, which puts them at odds with all intelligent creatures that live near them. They are constantly warring with or preparing to war with other humanoids, including other orc tribes. They can ally with other humanoids for a time but quickly rebel if not commanded by orcs. Their deities teach them that all other beings are inferior and that all worldly goods rightfully belong to the orcs, having been stolen by the others. Orc spellcasters are ambitious, and rivalries between them and warrior leaders sometimes tear a tribe apart.

 

Orc society is patriarchal: Females are prized possessions at best and chattel at worst. Male orcs pride themselves on the number of females they own and male children they sire, as well as their battle prowess, wealth, and amount of territory. They wear their battle scars proudly and ritually scar themselves to mark significant achievements and turning points in their lives. An orc lair may be a cave, a series of wooden huts, a fort, or even a large city built above and below ground. A tribe includes females (as many as there are males), young (half as many as there are females), and slaves (about one for every ten males). The chief orc deity is Gruumsh, a one-eyed god who tolerates no sign of peaceability among his people.

 

FULL-ORC RACIAL TRAITS

 

Orc leaders tend to be barbarians. Orc clerics worship Gruumsh. An orc cleric has access to two of the following domains: Chaos, Evil, Strength, or War (favored weapon: any spear). Most orc spellcasters are adepts. Orc adepts favor spells that deal damage. Orc Traits (Ex): Orcs possess the following racial traits.

 

·         +4 Strength, –2 Intelligence, –2 Wisdom, –2 Charisma.

·         An orc’s base land speed is 30 feet.

·         Darkvision out to 60 feet.

·         Light Sensitivity: Orcs are dazzled in bright sunlight or within the radius of a daylight spell.

·         Automatic Languages: Common, Orc. Bonus Languages: Dwarven, Giant, Gnoll, Goblin, Undercommon.

·         Favored Class: Barbarian.

 

 

HALF-ORC/HUMAN RACIAL TRAITS

 

·         +2 Strength, –2 Intelligence, –2 Charisma: Half-orc/human are strong, but their orc lineage makes them dull and crude.

·         The Half-orc/human gains the extra feat at first level like the Human. They also gain the 4 extra skill points at level 1 and 1 additional skill point at each level thereafter.

·         Medium: As Medium- creatures, half-orc/humans have no special bonuses or penalties due to their size.

·         Half-orc/human base land speed is 30 feet.

·         Darkvision: Half-orc/humans (and orcs) can see in the dark up to 60 feet. Darkvision is black and white only, but it is otherwise like normal sight, and half-orcs can function just fine with no light at all.

·         Orc Blood: For all effects related to race, a half-orc is considered an orc. Half-orcs, for example, are just as  vulnerable to special effects that affect orcs as their orc ancestors are, and they can use magic items that are only usable by orcs

·         Automatic Languages: Common and Orc. Bonus Languages Any (other than secret languages, such as Druidic). See other racial lists for common languages or the Speak Language skill (page 82) for a more comprehensive list.

·         Favored Class: Any When determining whether a multiclass human takes an experience point penalty, her highest-level class does not count. (See XP for Multiclass Characters, page 60.)

 

HALF-ORC/DWARF RACIAL TRAITS

 

·         +2 Strength, +2 Constitution, –2 Intelligence, –4 Charisma: The Dwarve blood, while thin, still grants some constitution bonus, it also decreases from the aesthetic appeal of this particular crossbreed.

·         Medium: As Medium- creatures, half-orcs have no special bonuses or penalties due to their size.

·         The Half-orc/dwarves base land speed is 20 feet.

·         Darkvision: Half-orc/dwarves can see in the dark up to 60 feet. Darkvision is black and white only, but it is otherwise like normal sight, and half-orc/dwarves can function just fine with no light at all.

·         Orc Blood: For all effects related to race, a half-orc is considered an orc. Half-orcs, for example, are just as  vulnerable to special effects that affect orcs as their orc ancestors are, and they can use magic items that are only usable by orcs.

·         Weapon Familiarity: Orcish/dwarves may treat dwarven waraxes and dwarven urgroshes (see Chapter 7:Equipment) as  martial weapons, rather than exotic weapons.

·         Stability: Orcish/dwarves are exceptionally stable on their feet. They gains a +6 bonus on ability checks made to resist being bull rushed or tripped when standing on the ground, due to the extra strength that the Orc blood attributes (but not when climbing, flying, riding, or otherwise not standing firmly on the ground).

·         Automatic Languages: Common and Orc. Bonus Languages: Draconic, Dwarf, Giant, Gnoll, Goblin, and Abyssal. Smart half-orcs (who are rare) may know the languages of their allies or rivals.

·         Favored Class: Fighter. A multiclass half-orc’s fighter class does not count when determining whether he  makes an experience point penalty (see XP for Multiclass Characters, page 60).

 

HALF-ORC/ELF RACIAL TRAITS

 

·         +2 Strength, +2 Dexterity, –2 Intelligence, -2 Constitution, –2 Charisma: Half-orc/elves are strong and  their Elven lineage makes them quicker than their kin. However, their strength and dexterity don’t make up for the elves poor constitution.

·         Medium: As Medium- creatures, half-orc/elves have no special bonuses or penalties due to their size.

·         Half-orc/elf base land speed is 30 feet.

·         Darkvision: Half-orc/elves can see in the dark up to 60 feet. Darkvision is black and white only, but it is otherwise like normal sight, and half-orcs can function just fine with no light at all.

·         Orc Blood: For all effects related to race, a half-orc is considered an orc. Half-orcs, for example, are just as  vulnerable to special effects that affect orcs as their orc ancestors are, and they can use magic items that are only usable by orcs.

·         +2 racial bonus on Listen, Search, and Spot checks. Merely passing within 5 feet of a secret or concealed door entitles you to a Search check to notice it as if you were actively looking for it. Your elf blood and passed on the elf senses which are so keen that you practically have a sixth sense about hidden portals.

·         A major benefit of this cross breeding is that the Half-orc/elf gains immunity to magic sleep effects.

·         Weapon Proficiency: The Orc/elf receives the Martial Weapon Proficiency feats for the longsword, rapier, longbow (including composite longbow), and shortbow (including composite shortbow) as bonus feats

·         Automatic Languages: Common and Orc. Bonus Languages: Draconic, Elf, Giant, Gnoll, Goblin, and Abyssal. Smart half-orcs (who are rare) may know the languages of their allies or rivals.

·         Favored Class: Wizard. A multiclass half-orc’s wizard class does not count when determining whether he  makes an experience point penalty (see XP for Multiclass Characters, page 60).

 

HALF-ORC/GNOME RACIAL TRAITS

 

·         +2 Constitution, –2 Intelligence, –2 Charisma: Half-orc/gnome are not as strong as other half-orcs, but their gnome lineage makes them highly resilient to disease.

·         Small: As a Small creature, the Orc/gnome gains a +1 size bonus to Armor Class, a +1 size bonus on attack rolls, and a +4 size bonus on Hide checks, but he uses smaller weapons than the other Orcs use, and his lifting and carrying limits are three-quarters of those of a Medium character.

·         Half-orc base land speed is 30 feet.

·         Darkvision: Half-orc/gnomes can see in the dark up to 60 feet. Darkvision is black and white only, but it is otherwise like normal sight, and half-orcs can function just fine with no light at all.

·         Orc Blood: For all effects related to race, a half-orc is considered an orc. Half-orcs, for example, are just as  vulnerable to special effects that affect orcs as their orc ancestors are, and they can use magic items that are only usable by orcs.

·         +4 dodge bonus to Armor Class against monsters of the giant type (such as ogres, trolls, and hill giants): This bonus represents special training and tricks that has been developed in their battles with giants. Any time a creature loses its Dexterity bonus (if any) to Armor Class, such as when it’s caught flat-footed, it loses its dodge bonus, too.  Spell-Like Abilities: 1/day—speak with animals (burrowing mammal only, duration 1  minute). A gnome with a Charisma score of at least 10 also has the following spell-like abilities: 1/day—dancing lights, ghost sound, prestidigitation. Caster level 1st; save DC 10 + gnome’s Cha modifier + spell level. See the spell descriptions on pages 216, 235, and 264, respectively.

·         +2 racial bonus on Listen checks: The gnomish keen ears have passed along.

·         +2 racial bonus on Craft (alchemy) checks: The gnome’s sensitive nose has been adopted by this crossbreed, it allows him to monitor alchemical processes by smell.

·         Automatic Languages: Common, Gnome and Orc. Bonus Languages: Draconic, Giant, Gnoll, Goblin, and Abyssal. Smart half-orcs (who are rare) may know the languages of their allies or rivals.

·         Favored Class: Bard. A multiclass half-orc/gnome bards class does not count when determining whether he  makes an experience point penalty (see XP for Multiclass Characters, page 60).