"Alternate" half orc backstories.

[kenobi65]

This works great if your party kills all the orcs and then dumps the baby orcs in Happytown's orphanage.

Indeed. One group I used to play in had a DM who would always put the moral dilemma in of "what to do with the children", and the group usually held that it would be evil to kill orc babies (since you're depriving them of the chance to grow up "good"). Usually, they'd leave the "women" alive, as well, so they weren't quite orphans.

 

[Stoat]

14) Saruman creates half-orcs in large numbers to serve as infiltrators, spies, or sun-tolerant skirmishers. The process of creation may involve a biological breeding program, or it may be an epic-strength magic ritual. The resulting beings breed true.

 

[Rechan]

Indeed. One group I used to play in had a DM who would always put the moral dilemma in of "what to do with the children", and the group usually held that it would be evil to kill orc babies (since you're depriving them of the chance to grow up "good"). Usually, they'd leave the "women" alive, as well, so they weren't quite orphans.

Never did understand why the females didn't fight. Especially against invaders coming in for wholesale slaughter.

But then, if my players left the women and children alive in the middle of the devastation, I would have something (like oh, an evil cleric, or some other intelligent monster) sweep in and convert them all as cultists/food/bodyguards.

 

[Kahuna Burger]

15) The "honorary orc". Banished human withstands the initiation rites of an orc tribe and in henceforth a member with the right to take a mate.

16) The abandoned child. The half orc was found exposed as an infant, a tradition common to both local orc and human tribes if the child was in any way deformed or "weak" seeming. Conception details are unknown and mostly irrelevant to the character who is simply happy to have been rescued from the action of "his" people.

 

[Set]

17) The Scarred Lands setting has Half-Orcs breeding true with other Half-Orcs, and several countries being heavily populated with half-orcs, fully integrated into the society and more common than Dwarves, Elves or Halflings. They make popular mercenaries and are a common sight in the militaries of many countries.

 

[SlagMortar]

18) At a battle between orcs and humans in a harsh climate, an orc and human of opposite gender are each wounded and left for dead. While initially wary, it quickly becomes apparent they will only survive by helping each other. Reliance leads to respect and companionship ...

 

[Kahuna Burger]

Never did understand why the females didn't fight. Especially against invaders coming in for wholesale slaughter.

(continued tangent) in a recent game, when my gladiator character was informed that there were "women and children" left in the trogledyte lair, her response was "I'm a woman and I learned to fight as a child, so what's your point?"

I've always hated the phrase "women and children" and would prefer to hear about "children and elderly" or at least "mothers and children" implying the non combatant females are pregnant or nursing at the time. (though in many "traditional" cultures, that doesn't imply the level of helplessness we often associate with it, either.)

(end tangent)

 

[WhimsyTheFae]

18) At a battle between orcs and humans in a harsh climate, an orc and human of opposite gender are each wounded and left for dead. While initially wary, it quickly becomes apparent they will only survive by helping each other. Reliance leads to respect and companionship ...

Enemy Mine, FTW!

 

[Voadam]

Gray Orcs: Half-Orcs are actually not half-human but a weaker subrace of full orcs.

Infection: Orcs are actually a corruptive mystical disease, a community of orcs near humans will infect a large surrounding area leading some humans born in the area to be infected and be half-orcs.

Caliban curse: A curse can be placed on people in the womb so they are born monstrous but slow and deformed pseudo orc-people.

 

[cmrscorpio]

Indeed. One group I used to play in had a DM who would always put the moral dilemma in of "what to do with the children", and the group usually held that it would be evil to kill orc babies (since you're depriving them of the chance to grow up "good").

I tried doing this with a group. With the wrong group. The paladin didn't even bother to cast detect evil before the massacre of a whole tribe's worth of kobold babies ensued. I made sure that it haunted the *players*, too. I don't think I've ever been so descriptive as a DM as I was when I described the PCs actions. After my descriptions, one of the players said to me "Dude, what's wrong with you?"