1/2 Orc - A new page for an old race

[Kichwas]

Inspired by the writeup of the 1/2 Elf, here's my 1/2 Orc:

Vision: low-light
Abilities: +2 Str +2 Wis
Skill bonuses: +2 Insight, +2 Intimidation

Tenacity: Select one extra feat at first level from any class, or human or orc. You must meet its other prereqs.

Dual Heritage: Can take feats that are either Orc or Human, as long as meet other reqs.

Group Cunning: You grant allies within 10 squares of you a +1 racial bonus to Insight.

Why Wisdom? The same reason the half-elf has Cha, to survive the 1/2 Orc has had to learn to be cunning. Where the 1/2 elf gets by on charm, the 1/2 orc gets by on being one step ahead.

Like the 1/2 elf of 4E, this 1/2 Orc is based on the idea of taking a little bit of the good of each ancestral line, along with the perks of coming from mixed heritage - namely being forced to survive in two very different worlds.

The half-elf mixes between communities through charm and grace and learning to master the social game. By contrast the half-orc mixes between communities by learning to stay one step ahead of other's motives and enmity and learning to put forth a strong front of bravado and bullish manners. Charm keeps the half-elf welcome, wits keep the half-orc alive.

At home in the back alleys of a great human city, or dark pits of an Orcish horde, or alone in the wilds, cast out from both, the half-orc is a survivor. Whether born from violence, a frontier truce, a romance doomed to tragedy, a slaver's breeding pit, or the descendant of a half-orc clan, this individual is a person born of two world, and at home with being welcome in neither.

 

[greyscale1]

General Approval.

 

[AMP Productions]

Looks balanced enough.
Seems like he would make an excellent battle cleric or paladin.

You can make some interesting combos with the other class feats as well.

Good job!

 

[mrrodgers]

Looks balanced enough.
Seems like he would make an excellent battle cleric or paladin.

You can make some interesting combos with the other class feats as well.

Good job!

Hey, don't forget the TW Ranger. Gives him some love too.

 

[loki1986]

I always loved the half-orc and played them in 3.5 exactly like they are here, cunning.

Most people played them as dumb abrasive fighters that got kicked out of every bar. but that would not enable the species to survive. I like this write up a lot and will probably have it as an option in my next game. Thanks for posting it.

 

[sidonunspa]

/Yoink!

So now to come up with some half-orc feats... I was thinking something like the Eladrian sword traing feat, but that borning...

I have to ponder on this, need starbucks... uhhh too early

 

[amnuxoll]

The +2 Wis means that you'll see a lot of half-orc wizards and clerics. That doesn't really fit. I think you should go with +2 Str and +2 Con.

 

[Kichwas]

The Half-elf had stats that did not reflect elf nor human per say, which is why I went the way I did. I felt that the theme for these two races is just too similar - people between worlds who gain some of the perks from each, and the ability to transition between them.

Con just doesn't feel right - it's a mirror of Orc, and these aren't Orcs. They're people between two worlds - that of Orcs and Humans. Humans have no preset stat, but just like the half elf, I felt they should get one physical thing from their non human heritage, and something mental that reflects their adaptability.

Plus its somewhat supported by the classic lore for 1/2 Orcs. They rise up among Orc tribes not for their physical abilities, but their cunning. With Orcs now having baseline +0 in mental stats, that's further justification that like half-elves, they deserve a mental bonus somewhere to show just what their advantage over Orcs is.

My concern at this point is that the feat bonus I've given them might be too powerful. I've been mulling that over since writing this.

 

[mattdm]

The +2 Wis means that you'll see a lot of half-orc wizards and clerics. That doesn't really fit.

Wisdom isn't so exciting for a wizard that you really need a +2 to it. And as for clerics, why not? Perhaps something about their situtuation makes many half-orcs turn to the gods for help.

 

[Tony Vargas]

Why Wisdom?

It's not INT or CHA, which the half orc formerly had penalties in. That's a reason, right there.