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<blockquote data-quote="Dastari" data-source="post: 3293185" data-attributes="member: 38358"><p><strong>Half-Orcs: Variants and subraces</strong></p><p></p><p>Here are some of my rule variants for half-orcs as well as half-orc subraces for the races listed above:</p><p></p><p><strong>Variant Rule: Alternate Ability Modifiers</strong></p><p></p><p> 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. </p><p></p><p><strong>Variant Rule: Extra Racial Abilities</strong></p><p></p><p> 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. </p><p></p><p><strong>Variant Rule: Double Heritage</strong></p><p></p><p> 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. </p><p></p><p><strong>Variant Rule: Weapon Familiarity</strong></p><p></p><p> 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. </p><p></p><p><strong>Subraces:</strong> 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.</p><p></p><p><strong>SCABLANDS HALF-ORC</strong></p><p></p><p> 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. </p><p> </p><p><strong>Scablands Half-Orc Racial Traits:</strong> (These traits are in addition to the mountain half-orc traits except where noted)</p><p>• Scablands half-orcs have low-light vision rather than darkvision.</p><p>• 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). </p><p>• Heat Endurance: Scablands half-orcs gain Heat Endurance as a bonus feat. </p><p></p><p><strong>PYGMY HALF-ORC</strong></p><p></p><p> 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. </p><p> 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. </p><p> 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. </p><p></p><p><strong>Pygmy Half-Orc Racial Traits:</strong> (These traits are in addition to the mountain half-orc traits except where noted) </p><p>• A pygmy half-orc has no bonuses or penalties to any ability scores. This replaces the mountain half-orc’s ability score adjustments. </p><p>• 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. </p><p></p><p><strong>SWAMP HALF-ORC</strong></p><p></p><p> 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. </p><p> 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. </p><p></p><p><strong>Swamp Half-Orc Racial Traits:</strong> (These traits are in addition to the mountain half-orc traits except where noted) </p><p>• +2 Strength, -2 Intelligence, -2 Charisma (See notes on rule variants below)</p><p>• +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.</p><p>• +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.</p><p>• Swamp half-orcs gain immunity to the Uncanny Odor extraordinary ability of normal swamp orcs.</p><p>• 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. </p><p></p><p><strong>STORM HALF-ORC</strong></p><p></p><p> 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. </p><p> 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. </p><p></p><p><strong>Storm Half-Orc Racial Traits:</strong> (These traits are in addition to the mountain half-orc traits except where noted) </p><p>• 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. </p><p></p><p><strong>Note on Rule Variants:</strong> 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.</p><p></p><p>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. </p><p>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. </p><p>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. </p><p>Storm half-orcs qualify for all rule variants. Their only difference from a normal half-orc is their favored class.</p></blockquote><p></p>
[QUOTE="Dastari, post: 3293185, member: 38358"] [b]Half-Orcs: Variants and subraces[/b] Here are some of my rule variants for half-orcs as well as half-orc subraces for the races listed above: [B]Variant Rule: Alternate Ability Modifiers[/B] 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. [B]Variant Rule: Extra Racial Abilities[/B] 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. [B]Variant Rule: Double Heritage[/B] 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. [B]Variant Rule: Weapon Familiarity[/B] 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. [B]Subraces:[/B] 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. [B]SCABLANDS HALF-ORC[/B] 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. [B]Scablands Half-Orc Racial Traits:[/B] (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. [B]PYGMY HALF-ORC[/B] 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. [B]Pygmy Half-Orc Racial Traits:[/B] (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. [B]SWAMP HALF-ORC[/B] 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. [B]Swamp Half-Orc Racial Traits:[/B] (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. [B]STORM HALF-ORC[/B] 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. [B]Storm Half-Orc Racial Traits:[/B] (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. [B]Note on Rule Variants:[/B] 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. [/QUOTE]
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