New Orc Subraces

It has bothered me since I was introduced to D&D that although orcs are a fantasy staple they are the only one of the major races that doesn't have any subraces. So to fill that gap I have made the following subraces. Two important notes to know are that I have alterred the base orc to add toughness as a bonus feat since I felt that orcs were short changed when balanced against elves, dwarves, humans, and the other common races. The other thing is that I've changed the term "Scab Orcs" to refer to full blooded orcs of the desert rather than half-orcs of the desert as Sandstorm refers to them. Now here are the subraces:

SCAB-ORC

Orcs seem capable of thriving in any climate, though it might be more accurate to say that they have few problems adapting to wherever they are forced to live. Such scab-orcs can be found in almost any terrain in the waste and are particularly common in the mountains. Indeed many bands of mountain raiders are composed of scab-orcs, and scab-orc nomads are the most eager of all nomads in the waste to raid other camps for supplies.
Scab-orcs look much like regular orcs but often wear more clothes and have darker almost jet black hair which is different from normal Orc gray. Scab-orcs tend to be followers of Shargaas and are known as his chosen people among the Orc race. They favor quick, stealthy, decisive attacks against foes as opposed to the protracted combat of other orc tribes. Few survive to tell the tale of attacks against their caravan in the Waste by followers of Shargaas.

Scab-Orc Racial Traits: (These traits are in addition to the mountain orc traits except where noted)
• Scab-orcs have low-light vision rather than darkvision.
• Scab-orcs do not suffer from light sensitivity.
• A scab-orc can go without water for four days (96 hours), plus a number of hours equal to his constitution score, before beginning to experience the ill effects of thirst (see Dehydration, Sandstorm page 15).
• Scab-orcs do not gain Toughness as a bonus feat.

PYGMY ORC

It is said by some men in dark taverns after they have had a bit to drink that in the steamy jungles of the south that a different kind of orc lives. This orc is more ferocious than any other orc and even eats its own kind. Few know of these orcs because few that have seen them have returned to live the tale. Rarely are such stories believed because along with them comes the description of a creature below 4 feet in height. This is the dreaded pygmy orc.
Pygmy orcs kill or capture anyone who crosses their path. Their ways are more wild than even other orcs and it is rumored that they prefer to catch their prey live because that is their preferred kind of food. Despite their small size, the pygmy orcs are more nimble than their larger cousins and even though not quite as strong they are incredibly strong for their size and can even overcome many larger creatures in a test of strength.
That is not to say that all pygmy orcs must be this way. It is just that none have been encountered that are any different. The possibility certainly exists for a pygmy orc to become enamored of the civilization that they sometimes spot from afar and wish to adventure out of their own lands to explore the wide world beyond.
Pygmy Orc males stand at 4” or taller and females tend to be about inches shorter. They tend to wear very little although many wear a small loincloth. Unlike other orcs who simply like to wear vivid colors, pygmy orcs tend to paint themselves blood red, mustard yellow, yellow-green, or deep purple with natural dyes. Otherwise pygmy orcs look like regular orcs.
Pygmy orcs are favored by the god Genki who is credited with their creation. Pygmy orcs are known for the creative deaths that they inflict upon their victims and Yurtrus takes great pride in these sacrifices.

Pygmy Orc Racial Traits: (These traits are in addition to the mountain orc traits except where noted)
• +2 Strength, +2 Dexterity, -2 Intelligence, -2 Wisdom, -2 Charisma. These adjustments replace the mountain orc’s ability score adjustments.
• Small: As a Small creature, a pygmy orc gains a +1 size bonus to Armor Class, a +1 size bonus on attack rolls, and a +4 size bonus on Hide Checks, but she uses smaller weapons than humans use, and her lifting and carrying limits are three-quarters of those of a medium character. This replaces the mountain orc’s size.
• Pygmy orc base land speed is 20ft. This replaces the mountain orc’s land speed.
• Pygmy orcs gain Run as a bonus feat.
• Pygmy orcs do not gain Toughness as a bonus feat.
• Pygmy orcs do not suffer from light sensitivity.
• Favored class: Ranger. This trait replaces the mountain orc’s favored class. Pygmy orcs find that their great strength and dexterity allows them to make excellent rangers and they are always at home in the wilds of their jungle homes.

SWAMP ORC

Many orcs that have been forced from their mountain strongholds have been forced to settle in fetid swamps and cold mires. Over time these orcs have almost become one with the swamps gaining them great bonuses to striking at foes who unknowingly enter their realm.
Swamp orcs tend towards neutrality. The swamp has become their home and they will defend it but they have no real care about what goes on in the outside world. A swamp orc adventures if he does not fit in with this mindset. He may desire power or territory or may just be curious about what lays outside. Other swamp orcs adventure to protect their swamps from outside threats.
Swamp orcs tends to be slightly shorter than other orcs. They fall within the normal height ranges for humans as opposed to mountain orcs. Swamp orcs have green fur and their eyes are brown instead of red. This aids in blending in with their natural habitat. Swamp orcs are more perceptive than normal orcs but also have an even more difficult time dealing with members of other races. Swamp orcs are favored by the god Savidge whose areas of concern include swamps, nature, and plants, which appeals greatly to the swamp orcs for obvious reasons.

Swamp Orc Racial Traits: (These traits are in addition to the mountain orc traits except where noted)
• +4 Strength, -2 Intelligence, -4 Charisma. These adjustments replace the mountain orc’s ability score adjustments.
• +2 racial bonus on all Hide and Move Silently checks made in a swamp. Swamp orcs can move quietly and blend in when in their natural habitat.
• +2 racial bonus on Handle animal checks made on animals native to a swamp. Swamp orcs have learned how to get along with the denizens of their homes.
• Swamp orcs do not gain Toughness as a bonus feat.
• Uncanny Odor (Ex): Once per day a swamp orc may excrete a stench causing all non-swamp orcs within 30 feet to make a Fortitude save of DC 10 + ½ the swamp orc’s character level + his Constitution modifier. Any creature that fails the save is sickened for 10 rounds and the swamp orc suffers a –4 to all charisma checks for the next day with all creatures within 120 feet for the next 24 hours. A delay poison or neutralize poison spell removes the effect from the sickened creature. Creatures with immunity to poison are unaffected, and creatures resistant to poison receive their normal bonus on their saving throws.
• Favored class: Druid. This trait replaces the mountain orc’s favored class. The druid class allows the swamp orc to combine his love of his tribe with love of his home. At once becoming defender of the land and a healer of the tribe swamp orc druids are very prominent in their society and their great strength allows them to be formidable foes to any who oppose them. A swamp orc druid gains Swamp Stride instead of Wilderness Stride at 2nd level. This ability allows him to move through swamp terrain at his normal speed without taking damage or suffering any other impairment.

FOREST ORC

Orcs that have been forced to leave their caves and mountain strongholds sometimes need to live in the forests. Dense forests can provide protection and camouflage, a supply of fresh game, and protection from the sun. It is in such dark forests that orcs thrive to the point where they have become a separate race of forest orcs.
This is not to say that forest orcs are greatly different from their orc brethren. They do not love the forest in the manner of the elves. They are fine with hunting animals beyond their capacity to sustain their populations and cutting down innumerable trees. They are violent and vicious. However, they have learned to use the forest to a tactical advantage, which distances them from their cousins.
Forest orcs wear a great deal of green and brown and tend to cover themselves in pieces of bark and leaves so that they can blend with the forest. Their patron goddess is Kargyev who is credited with forming their race. As the goddess of forests, the hunt, and freedom she is ideally suited to be the patron of the forest orcs. Ironically to humans but obvious for orcs, she is also the goddess of fire.

Forest Orc Racial Traits: (These traits are in addition to the mountain orc traits except where noted)
• Forest orcs gain Track as a bonus feat. This replaces the Toughness feat gained by mountain orcs.

STORM-ORC

Storm orcs live on islands far to the east that are known for their incredibly fierce winds, biting cold, and terrible lightning strikes. Yet out of such adversity comes a certain kind of order. Storm-orcs are incredibly regimented and have a unified society in the empire of Quarnost. Yet, they are not completely different from mountain orcs. Storm orcs still place a great emphasis on family as family “houses” are the basic building blocks of their empire. Power is gained or lost by ones family associations based on all the deeds of the extended family. Prestige is gained mostly from prominence in battle whether that is in warfare or through duels. Duels are the fastest way to ascend in rank in the empire as it is naturally believed that those who succeed in battle are most fit to rule.
Denizens of Quarnost believe in a form of honor known as Sharg’troth the way of the warrior. All citizens are expected to live by Sharg’troth for it is felt that all citizens are in their own way members of the military effort. Sharg’troth teaches that an enemy must always be faced openly. Deception and sneak attacks are dishonorable. Crimes against a fellow citizen are also dishonorable. Yet it is important to note that murder by duel is not a crime nor is the taking of spoils after such a death. Murder by poison is a crime. Those who act counter to the teachings of Sharg’troth are either put to death or discommended. Discommendation is almost worth than death as no citizen is allowed to speak or interact with the discommendee save to forcibly remove them if they make a nuisance of themselves. A discommendee is a living ghost, unable to do anything and ignored by all. If anyone chooses to ignore the discommendation they too will be discommended or put to death.
Storm orcs tend towards evil as do other orcs but they strongly tend towards law. The harsh conditions that they are forced to contend with have made the storm orcs impose their own kind of order on their environment to survive. Storm orcs look in all ways like mountain orcs save for the fact that their coarse body hair is groomed and trimmed and their hair is usually cut short or tied in a knot to keep it from interfering in combat. Storm orcs often revere the god Bargvar, the brother of Gruumsh. Bargvar is said to have forged the storm orcs upon the anvil of the island of Quarnost with the hammer of lightning. Bargvar is credited with all the successes of the Quarnost Empire and his emphasis on warfare to instill order in the world resonates with the storm orcs’ natural tendencies.

Storm-Orc Racial Traits: (These traits are in addition to the mountain orc traits except where noted)
• +2 Constitution, -2 Dexterity
• Favored Class: Fighter. This trait replaces the mountain orc’s favored class. Fighting and the expansion of the Empire are everything to a storm orc and for that reason even most non-soldiers have a level or two of fighter.

Often I see folks who (HouseRule) relate all the Orcs, Goblins, Hobgoblins, etc. into a series of related Orc races (much like Tolkien). That is probably one of several reasons they are not sub-raced more (with copyright concerns). Otherwise you would probably have a history of the races being all related, unlike they are portrayed now.

smootrk said:

Often I see folks who (HouseRule) relate all the Orcs, Goblins, Hobgoblins, etc. into a series of related Orc races (much like Tolkien). That is probably one of several reasons they are not sub-raced more (with copyright concerns). Otherwise you would probably have a history of the races being all related, unlike they are portrayed now.

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I wouldn't be surprised if that were the case, but that isn't the point of my thread. The point is to start some discussion on these races and to determine what people like or don't like about them. Why do you think that they work or don't work?

Also, if I'm posting on the wrong board then let me know. This is the only one that seemed to fit on enworld but I've been really surprised by the lack of response.

Thanks!

You picked the right forum, although HR Forum is not nearly so fast paced as the General Forum. Additionally, the weekends are exceptionally slow.

Well, mechanically the variants seem fine, but I did not try to look at balancing on a line by line basis - there are others here who are better at that. On a glance - looks fine.

Flavor wise, it just looks like Orcs in Forest, or Orcs in Swamps, etc. Not much to entice me, but then again, I feel the same way about the plethora of Elf variants. I would rather see a coherent race design with Cultural variations that describe how regionally/culturally different sects differ (Feats, Types of Equipment, Visual Appearance Differences, etc... not real racial differences). And not to disparage you, because in a perfect world I would want to see the same treatment given to Elf races.

Your separation of Orcs into additional variant races may also prove to be problematic later. For instance, what is a Half-Orc of one particular subrace, compared to another variety of Half-Orc... do they have differences? Or being prolific breeders as Orcs are, what if 2 of your variants breed with each other... what treatment do you give those HalfBreeds (being full Orcs regardless)? There are other Half-Orc races that may need changes because of this (Orogs, Ogrillons, Tanaruks (if used), or others).

Anyway, I agree that Orcs (and HalfOrcs) are lacking some much needed flavor, and could use additional material that helps to define their culture better than just 'barbaric'. Heck, they used to be Lawful Evil and fought other LE Goblins on Acheron, until somebody thought they needed a race tailored for the Barbarian Class. I preferred them Lawful, myself.

A treatment on Cultural varieties, additional Orc only Feats, or other minor changes (mechanically) would be better received by me. Your thread on Orc Gods is nice - I like them, but I have not read the other thread yet.

smootrk said:

You picked the right forum, although HR Forum is not nearly so fast paced as the General Forum. Additionally, the weekends are exceptionally slow.

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Yeah I should have said what I said differently anyway. I didn't mean that the lack of response bothered me it was more like that the few responses that I did get seemed to be of the "why are you here and why are you posting this variety". I thought that your original reply was chastizing me for not realizing that orcs aren't subraced more because of copyright concerns.

Well, mechanically the variants seem fine, but I did not try to look at balancing on a line by line basis - there are others here who are better at that. On a glance - looks fine.

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Yeah I didn't change enough to really disrupt the balance I don't think. My main change was to give the basic mountain orc Toughness as a bonus feat and give them weapon familiarity with the orc double axe. It bothers me that if you compare an orc to a human the orc is really short changed. Yes they get a +4 to Strength but that's balanced by a -2 to all soft stats. I realize that the creators behind D&D think that a +2 to Strength is worth 1.5 times as much in soft stats but I don't know that I buy that and even if I do that just means that their stats are balanced. If its false it means that they're slightly short changed already. Then they get darkvision which is pretty sweet but they're handicapped by their low light vision. Even assuming that the stats equal out that means that orcs get something like 1/2 a special ability. Humans get a bonus feat and extra skill points. So I felt that giving orcs Toughness and weapon familiarity helps to even the score a bit and still keeps them as really great melee combatants.

Flavor wise, it just looks like Orcs in Forest, or Orcs in Swamps, etc. Not much to entice me, but then again, I feel the same way about the plethora of Elf variants. I would rather see a coherent race design with Cultural variations that describe how regionally/culturally different sects differ (Feats, Types of Equipment, Visual Appearance Differences, etc... not real racial differences). And not to disparage you, because in a perfect world I would want to see the same treatment given to Elf races.

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Nothing would please me more than to do a Races of the Wild/Destiny/Stone/Dragon type of treatise on orcs and I suppose Goblinoids talking about their culture and other information. I actually have a 40 page document with a lot of that information already typed up. You've seen part of it on my pantheon thread and the thread about their extra divine realms. That was tapped from the section in my document about the orc afterlife and I just basically pulled it out to show which planes I put all of my deities in. I have not yet developed orc only feats and equipment but that's just a matter of sitting down and typing it up.

Still, I personaly don't mind all of the various subraces because I really feel like regional variations could cause radical differences in a species. That's where my Pygmy Orcs and Swamp Orcs come in, which are probably the two groups that I'm most proud of. I realize that the Scab Orcs and Forest Orcs are basically the same culturally but just have minor variations due to their culture. The only reason for the scab orcs is that it bothered me that Sandstorm created a special race of desert half-orcs but never bothered to talk about the desert orcs, so I felt compelled to create the orcs that sire the desert half-orcs. Then the Forest Orcs were spawned because I couldn't decide whether or not to give mountain orcs Toughness or Track as a bonus feat, so I just created a new group that gains Track. So I confess that those aren't as compelling. Still, I think that the Storm Orcs have a lot to recommend themselves since they are so different from other orcs culturally and thats why their main variation from standard orcs is their favored class.

Your separation of Orcs into additional variant races may also prove to be problematic later. For instance, what is a Half-Orc of one particular subrace, compared to another variety of Half-Orc... do they have differences? Or being prolific breeders as Orcs are, what if 2 of your variants breed with each other... what treatment do you give those HalfBreeds (being full Orcs regardless)? There are other Half-Orc races that may need changes because of this (Orogs, Ogrillons, Tanaruks (if used), or others).

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Oh, I've already addressed that in the various paraphenalia that I've created and I will post it below. I am not familiar with Tanaruks but as far as I know so far Orogs and Ogrillions have not been updated for 3.5 yet so thankfully I just have to worry about variations of half-orcs and the various orc subraces breeding together. Still, if I ever wanted to make an NPC that was a mix of any two races that hadn't been done before I would just create the stats on the spot, so it really isn't a problem and if my players wanted to play an unusual crossbreed as long as I was fine with it, I'd make up the stats and allow them to play, so I really don't see the problem.

Anyway, I agree that Orcs (and HalfOrcs) are lacking some much needed flavor, and could use additional material that helps to define their culture better than just 'barbaric'. Heck, they used to be Lawful Evil and fought other LE Goblins on Acheron, until somebody thought they needed a race tailored for the Barbarian Class. I preferred them Lawful, myself.

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Y'know you aren't the only one that I've heard say that. The few comments that I have gotten back on these races are all very positive about the Storm Orcs. They seem to be the ones that everyone is interested in and would like to see more of. The reason for that seems to be that everyone prefers orcs lawful.

A treatment on Cultural varieties, additional Orc only Feats, or other minor changes (mechanically) would be better received by me. Your thread on Orc Gods is nice - I like them, but I have not read the other thread yet.

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Well a lot of that material is embedded in the deity stuff and the stuff that I've written on the Afterlife but I have written a lot more about the cultural variations. Let me know if you'd like to see more and I'll find a way to post it. Now below I'll post the various breeding configurations for my orc subraces:

CROSSBREEDING ORC SUBRACES

The consequence of breeding different orc subraces together must be addressed at some point. As per the usual rules, a greater than 50/50 mix means that in terms of game mechanics the orc is whatever races he has more than 50% of.

MOUNTAIN ORC/SCAB ORC: The orc gains darkvision but retains the resistance to dehydration and does not gain toughness or low-light vision.

MOUNTAIN ORC/PYGMY ORC: The orc is a medium creature and gains run as a bonus feat instead of toughness. In all other ways treat it as a mountain orc although if raised by pygmy orcs rule that his favored class is ranger.

MOUNTAIN ORC/SWAMP ORC: The orc gains the ability modifiers of the mountain orc but the special abilities of the swamp orc. The favored class is druid.

MOUNTAIN ORC/FOREST ORC: The orc either gains track or toughness as a bonus feat as chosen by the player. This match would only be for color.

MOUNTAIN ORC/STORM ORC: The orc gains the favored class of whichever side he is raised by and the ability modifiers are chosen by the player.

SCAB ORC/PYGMY ORC: The orc is a medium creature and has the ability modifiers of the scab orc. He gains run as a bonus feat and has darkvision instead of low-light vision. He does not gain resistance to dehydration. The favored class is Ranger.

SCAB ORC/SWAMP ORC: The orc gains the ability modifiers of the swamp orc, darkvision in addition to low-light vision and immunity to uncanny odor but not the ability to create it. He does not suffer from light sensitivity. The favored class is Druid.

SCAB ORC/FOREST ORC: The orc gains darkvision but retains the resistance to dehydration and not gain track or low-light vision.

SCAB ORC/STORM ORC: The orc gains darkvision but retains the resistance to dehydration and does not gain toughness or low light vision. The orc gains the favored class of whichever subrace he is raised by and the player may choose the ability modifiers.

PYGMY ORC/SWAMP ORC: The orc is a medium creature and gains the ability modifiers of the swamp orc as well as their special abilities. The favored class is ranger.

PYGMY ORC/FOREST ORC: The orc is a medium creature and gains run as a bonus feat instead of track. In all other ways treat it as a forest orc except that its favored class is Ranger.

PYGMY ORC/STORM ORC: The orc is a medium creature and gains run as a bonus feat instead of toughness. It gains the ability modifiers of the mountain orc (not the storm orc!). The favored class is always fighter.

SWAMP ORC/FOREST ORC: The orc gains the ability modifiers of the forest orc, but the special abilities of the swamp orc. The favored class is Druid.

SWAMP ORC/STORM ORC: The orc gains the ability modifiers of the storm orc, but the special abilities of the swamp orc. The favored class is Ranger.

FOREST ORC/STORM ORC: The player may determine whether he gains the ability scores of the forest orc or storm orc. His favored class and bonus feat are determined by which subrace he was raised by. He gains track as a bonus feat and has a favored class of barbarian if raised by forest orcs but he gains toughness as a bonus feat and a favored class as fighter if raised by storm orcs.

Half-Orcs: Variants and subraces

Here are some of my rule variants for half-orcs as well as half-orc subraces for the races listed above:

Variant Rule: Alternate Ability Modifiers

The half-orc is half an orc, which gets modifiers to all of its mental abilities. Thus, there should be no reason why all half-orcs have a normal wisdom score, but get modifiers to their Intelligence and Charisma. Using this variant rule you can expand the versatility of the half-orc race by ruling that the half-orc can have a –2 to any two ability modifiers at the player’s discretion. Thus there are now half-orc variants with a +2 STR, -2 INT, -2WIS or +2 STR, -2 WIS, -2 CHA.

Variant Rule: Extra Racial Abilities

This variant was developed to address the issue of the power imbalance in the class. The half-orc can choose to have one of the two human abilities in addition to darkvision. Basically, a half-orc chooses either a bonus feat or one additional skill point per level with four extra points at first level. A DM can rule that only one of these applies to all half-orcs or this can be left up to the player’s discretion.

Variant Rule: Double Heritage

This variant also adds to the versatility of the half-orc. In this variant the half-orc not only gains the benefit of Orc blood, but also human blood. Thus, a half-orc is considered human or orc for all effects that target either race. However, if the effect targets both races the effect does not stack. For example, a ranger with Orc as a favored enemy will get the same bonuses against half-orcs. A ranger with human as a favored enemy will get the same bonuses against half-orcs. However, a ranger with both orc and human as favored enemies would only use their higher bonus against half-orcs. If both bonuses are equal then only that one bonus applies.

Variant Rule: Weapon Familiarity

Think about giving all half-orcs weapon familiarity with the orc double axe. This variant means that half-orcs treat an orc double axe as a martial weapon instead of as an exotic weapon. Even for half-orcs who have never associated with full-blooded orcs it is possible that the weapon itself is so well balanced for orcs that any half-orc with martial weapon proficiencies naturally takes to it.

Subraces: The above information describes the half-mountain orc, the most common variety. There are two other major subraces of half-orc and their characteristics are discussed below.

SCABLANDS HALF-ORC

Due to their reputation among the more civilized folk of the waste, half-orcs are often barred from trading, which forces them to make do with whatever tools and weapons they can construct for themselves. This draws many half-orcs to the scablands, where the razor rocks make for excellent axe blades and armor spikes. These combined with the natural children of Scab Orcs and humans form the Scablands Half-Orcs of the waste.

Scablands Half-Orc Racial Traits: (These traits are in addition to the mountain half-orc traits except where noted)
• Scablands half-orcs have low-light vision rather than darkvision.
• A scablands half-orc can go without water for two days (48 hours), plus a number of hours equal to his constitution score, before beginning to experience the ill effects of thirst (see Dehydration, Sandstorm page 15).
• Heat Endurance: Scablands half-orcs gain Heat Endurance as a bonus feat.

PYGMY HALF-ORC

Savage human tribes live in the same jungles from whence the Pygmy orcs hail and so it is not surprising that from time to time a union has formed between these two groups. No one knows what sort of dark rites might give rise to such a pairing. Certainly it is possible that amongst cannibals a trade of people between two tribes might be possible or perhaps captives are carried off after war. In either event in some way and somehow the occasional union fuses these two races and from them comes the Pygmy Half-Orc.
The Pygmy half-orc endures none of the stigma that his larger cousin does. This is because whether he is raised by Pygmy Orcs or humans the culture in the jungle is very similar and neither sees anything wrong with the Pygmy half-orc. Instead, they are prized for their stealth by the humans and prized for their size by the Pygmy orcs.
The pygmy half-orc is darker than any of his half-orc cousins. They have the same hairy visage as normal half-orcs but the pygmy half-orc’s hair and skin is a dark black. Pygmy half-orcs stand at about 5 feet tall give or take half a foot. In all other ways, they resemble a typical half-orc.

Pygmy Half-Orc Racial Traits: (These traits are in addition to the mountain half-orc traits except where noted)
• A pygmy half-orc has no bonuses or penalties to any ability scores. This replaces the mountain half-orc’s ability score adjustments.
• Favored class: Ranger. This trait replaces the mountain half-orc’s favored class. Pygmy half-orcs take after their parents. They are fierce hunters and tend to be even better trackers than their orc kin even though their ability in battle is not quite the same. Still, the pygmy half-orc gains no penalties to either strength or dexterity and there is no reason why they can not be the equal in either category of any member of a pygmy orc tribe.

SWAMP HALF-ORC

The swamp orcs rarely mix with any outsiders. However, sometimes swamp orc female leaves for one reason or another and comes back with child. Swamp orcs do not discriminate against the child but rather welcome him as one of the tribe and try to gloss over his differences. The tribe benefits by keeping its unity and family while at the same time stifling any tendency the child might have to find out about the other side of his heritage.
Swamp half-orcs have the same height and weight restrictions as a human. They are always brown eyed save for a few who have inherited green eyes from their human parent. They have the same coarse green body hair as normal swamp orcs but it is thin and spread out unlike the uniform fur of a full-blooded orc.

Swamp Half-Orc Racial Traits: (These traits are in addition to the mountain half-orc traits except where noted)
• +2 Strength, -2 Intelligence, -2 Charisma (See notes on rule variants below)
• +1 racial bonus on all Hide and Move Silently checks made in a swamp. Swamp half-orcs can move quietly and blend in when in their natural habitat.
• +1 racial bonus on Handle animal checks made on animals native to a swamp. Swamp half-orcs have learned how to get along with the denizens of their homes.
• Swamp half-orcs gain immunity to the Uncanny Odor extraordinary ability of normal swamp orcs.
• Favored class: Druid. This trait replaces the mountain half-orc’s favored class. Swamp half-orcs are also fierce protectors of the swamps that they view as their homes. A swamp half-orc also received Swamp Stride instead of Wilderness Stride as a 2nd level druid.

STORM HALF-ORC

Storm orcs often breed with humans whether these are captives or simply subjects of the empire. Some are won as trophies in battle but some couplings simply occur naturally due to admiration of the storm orc’s strength or prominence within the empire and some humans simply find orcs attractive. In any event, storm half-orcs do occur and as long as they are willing to live their lives by Sharg’troth they are welcomed as citizens of the Empire if raised in Quarnost. If raised in human lands, storm half-orcs are faced with the same attitudes as other half-orcs see. If raised in lands under threat of combat by Quarnost a storm half-orc is under is likely greatly mistreated and mistrusted. As a result few storm half-orcs live for long amongst humans even if they were born in human settlements. Most migrate to the empire as soon as they are of age and some do even beforehand.
Storm half-orcs look like any other half-orc. The only distinguishing factor would be the hair, which is still typically tied back or cut short unlike most half-orcs.

Storm Half-Orc Racial Traits: (These traits are in addition to the mountain half-orc traits except where noted)
• Favored class: Fighter. This trait replaces the mountain half-orc’s favored class. Storm half-orcs love combat as much as their storm orc ancestors and love discovering the rules of combat unlike mountain half-orcs who revel in the release raging bloodlust. This makes the storm half-orc tend toward the way of the Fighter.

Note on Rule Variants: Not all of the rule variants proposed for the mountain half-orc apply to all of the subraces given here. A case by case analysis is given below.

Scablands half-orcs already gain extra feats and special abilities even though these are highly specialized. As a result they do not qualify for the Extra Racial Abilities rule variant although they qualify for all others.
Pygmy half-orcs do not have any ability modifiers so they do not qualify for the Alternate Ability Modifiers rule variant although they qualify for all others.
Swamp half-orcs are more specialized than other half-orcs. This gives them slightly more abilities but it also makes them less versatile. For this reason, they do not qualify for the Alternate Ability Modifiers rule variant but they do qualify for all others.
Storm half-orcs qualify for all rule variants. Their only difference from a normal half-orc is their favored class.