D&D (2024) The Half Orc. Are they still needed?

[Paul Farquhar]

If half-orcs and half-elves are gone in the future, so should aasimars, tieflings, and probably others: just bring in playable celestials and fiends.

That being said, if future editions don't include them, I'll either add them back in (like everything else) or just not play it.

A half elf just becomes a human (or whatever) with an elven lineage, just as an aasimar is a human (or whatever) with celestial lineage. They are not being deleted, they are being simplified.

 

[Minigiant]

The influence of the MMO "World of Warcraft" is too strong to be ignored, althought always the archetype of barbarian orc may be too typecasted. Why not an orc shaman?

And half-orc is easier to explain the reason because a orcblood is in a group with no-orcs.

I am awaiting half-ogres as one of the new PC races.

That's kinda how 4e did it.

The Half Races were the multiclassers and twists on the non-human side's trope

Half Elf got an at-will of another class. This allowed for the fighter with a wizard spell or cleric prayer or a wizard would could whack you got with a staff.

Half Orc added +W or +1d8 to any attack or spell. This boosted warrior + priest/mage types

Half Dwarves just ended penalties and pushed the idea of alternative dwarf trope like a gladiator fighter, a slave smith, or a matyr priest.

 

[Catolias]

I think orc should be an option, and even though I was a very big fan of Half Elves in ADnD I think it probably is time to mak a generic half x/ half y template.
Probably:
Chose

• you get one (or two) skill profciciencies if either parent race has one, or one (or two) of your choice.
• you get darkvision 30ft if either parent race has it or 60ft if both have it.
• if either of your parents has a heritage, you inherit it.
• you can chose any one other trait from your parent races that is not darkvision or giving a free proficiency.

I totally agree. Pathfinder 2e includes this in its options now so you can half-dwarves, half-gnomes, etc.

I think the problem for me was the explanation for a half-orc coming from sexual violence. I don’t see why that should be the default reason for blending.

 

[DND_Reborn]

They are not being deleted, they are being simplified.

Sounds more like the opposite to me, but whatever.

 

[DND_Reborn]

I don’t see why that should be the default reason for blending.

Because orcs were "monsters" then and the designers felt such unions could only happen through violence, as where dwarves and gnomes and other races could produce half-what-ever for other reasons.

 

[Ogre Mage]

Perhaps if their 5.5 racial abilities give them a certain niche which is distinct from the orc, as opposed to just being watered-down orcs.

 

[Tales and Chronicles]

I think @Paul Farquhar has the right of it.

If you are of mixed heritage, pick the one that represent you most. You then decide what your character looks like. After all, even planar ancestry such a Tieflings and Genasi are just (mostly) humans in which their special lineage is stronger than in other.

I can even see some Feats similar to the multiclass-lite Feats to how a more distant ancestry, like Fey or Shadow or Dragon Touched.

(I'd also make sorcerer either a lineage or a feat chain to tap into magical lineage rather than a full class, but that's me, who would also leave warlock as a background + feat)

 

[Cap'n Kobold]

Preface: The larger issue of "race" in DnD and how it is changing and will be presented differently in 5+ed is it's own topic. The issue of "mixed race" and how it is presented, such as the half-elf, half-orc, and those of more extended lineage, such as Aasimar and Tieflings is it's own topic. That said, I fully expect this to eventually devolve into just arguments about those issues along a long enough timeline.

Premise: Given the "softening" of Orcs in the mainline documents and likely continued efforts to remove the idea that any given race of playable peoples in DnD are inherently evil, does it make sense to have Half Orcs as a playable option in the next iteration of the PHB? Should instead players just get rules for playing Orcs outright in the PHB?

Thoughts?

Are you talking about whether players can play a character who is a half-orc, or whether there should be separate rules for half-orcs as a specific race? Those are two different questions.

Between Tasha's customising your origin option, or just deciding which parent you take after and using those rules, separate stats for half-orcs as a lineage are not required to play a half-orc (or half-elf etc) character.
However half-orcs and half-elves have a definite existence in most settings, and as conceptual archetypes for players to represent their characters.

 

[Scott Christian]

My friends that are clearly both part of, and ignored by, both 'races' of their parents absolutely love the half-orc. It helps them feel like themselves, with a foot in both worlds. Telling such a person that they're really just an orc doesn't enable their story - it ends it.

I can get behind that as a player.

But, from a larger perspective, the feeling of having one foot in two worlds is a trope as old as time, and there are other ways of doing it, as opposed to being "mixed race." I think the new ideal will be a person of a race (say an orc) that was raised by elves or dwarves or humans or whatever. They will strongly associate with their culture but feel a longing for the ancestry.

 

[Minigiant]

A half elf just becomes a human (or whatever) with an elven lineage, just as an aasimar is a human (or whatever) with celestial lineage. They are not being deleted, they are being simplified.

Isn't the point that a half elf or half orc is only half human.

A half elf isn't human with elven lineage but a combination of how human and elven body and mind interact.

For example a half elf will be refined like an elf but their human side gives them the curiosity and ambition to think outside the box, sty on track, and not take 100 years to learn something. This is why half elves are known for versatility. They learn like elves but don't take forever like a human.

The question are:

What benefits and flaws of the orc mind does the human mind cancel out?
What benefits and flaws of the orc body does the human body cancel out?