"Alternate" half orc backstories.

[S'mon]

My vision of orcs came from Tolkien and (perhaps not surprisingly) I think Peter Jackson's outfit came a lot closer than Erol Otis, or whomever it was who did the old 1e MM illustration. I always kinda ignored the 'pig-headed' description.

I agree the Peter Jackson versions are closer (though Boromir was killed by regular orcs, not Uruk-Hai super-orc!) but the 1e version is rather evocative of the monsters in William ope Hogdson's House on the Borderlands, which is kinda cool. Funny thing though is that 3e orcs are _still_ pig-snouted, essentially, not nosed.

I guess my overall take on orcs is that I like them to be nasty and monstrous. Having them be the romantic partners of non-insane, non-coerced humans seriously detracts from their mystique.

 

[S'mon]

My vision of orcs came from Tolkien and (perhaps not surprisingly) I think Peter Jackson's outfit came a lot closer than Erol Otis, or whomever it was who did the old 1e MM illustration. I always kinda ignored the 'pig-headed' description.

A 1e MM illuatrated by Otus would have been awesome (I got a 1st print DDG off Ebay recently, the Otus illustrations of the Cthulu mythos, cover, frontispiece etc are fantastic IMO) but AFAIK he wasn't involved in the 1e MM.

 

[Klaus]

My vision of orcs came from Tolkien and (perhaps not surprisingly) I think Peter Jackson's outfit came a lot closer than Erol Otis, or whomever it was who did the old 1e MM illustration. I always kinda ignored the 'pig-headed' description.

So; imagine Jackons LotR orcs, give them a little variety beyond merely slavering barbarian horde for culture, and you have a race that potentially could have some very handsome devils and exotic beautiful sirens. And when you've got slavering barbarian horde human cultures, you don't even need to give the orcs variety; they can think they're sexy already.

Yeah, I think if a Charisma 3 human can get some action, a Charisma 14 orc also can.

 

[phindar]

Yeah, ugly people get action all the time, and the heart wants what it wants.

I play a lot of half-orcs, and I always have. If they're excluded from 4e (much like they were from 2e, and I haven't really been following along), I imagine they'll be houseruled and grandfathered in to a lot of games. (I played a lot of half-orcs in 2e, even before the Humanoids Handbook came out.)

The only half-orc I ever played that was a product of rape was one called Grimm, who's mother was a powerful orc warrior who raped a half-elf in the middle of a battle. (That always stands out to me because I made it up more-or-less on the spot when my character was being introduced to someone, and it was worth it for the table of gamers who stared dumbfounded when they heard it. Of course, this was a much more innocent time in gaming.)

Being a half-orc informed some aspect of the character history, because the character was seen as a monster by most goodly races. I had a tendency to play atypical half-orcs. whether they were ones that rejected the orcish stereotype or were unaware of it-- like my underdark pit fighter who being from the underdark considered himself one of the least monstrous things around. Being almost human in the underdark is a significant step up from the various races of spider humanoids, fishpeople, deepspawns and gigantic psionic catfish.

One of my favorite quotes about this comes from the 5th Season of Buffy, when Buffy asks Spike to protect Dawn. He says he will because, I may be a monster, but you've always treated me like a man.

 

[roguerouge]

One of my favorite quotes about this comes from the 5th Season of Buffy, when Buffy asks Spike to protect Dawn. He says he will because, I may be a monster, but you've always treated me like a man.

QFT. The best possible example to use.... Of course, James Marsters is quite a bit hotter than any of the half-orcs that I've seen illustrated. (But then, if gamers don't mind the horns on the scantily-clad tieflings, I guess the same goes for the tusks of the orc-blooded.

 

[haakon1]

One idea I've always had is about the "fantasy genetics" of humans, elves, and orcs.

Humans and elves can breed. Either they are the same species, or closely related within the same genus (like dogs/wolves/coyotes).

Humans and orcs can breed. Ditto.

Elves and orcs cannot interbreed. Same genus, but too far apart. Elves are foxes, orcs are wolves, and humans are dogs or coyotes that can breed with both.

In the various description of sahuagin, I remember that some are mutants who look at lot like aquatic elves, which led me to decide sahuagin are a branch or breed of the elvish tree.

So, anyhow, perhaps half-orcs are sometimes like the mutant sahuagin -- throwbacks where the orc trait inherent in a lot of humans becomes more pronounced. If these folks are shunned by society and isolated, they could breed with each other and likely "breed true" until a population of similar folk was formed.

Definitely a variant on the usual stories, but an interesting one to add to the mix, I think.

 

[Aeolius]

In the various description of sahuagin, I remember that some are mutants who look at lot like aquatic elves, which led me to decide sahuagin are a branch or breed of the elvish tree.

In the 1e MM, it hinted that sahuagin were somehow related to sea elves and drow.

 

[CruelSummerLord]

23) One plot I have in my Living Greyhawk Gazetteer Addendum has the current ruler of Ull, Bruzharag the Misbegotten being conceived as an instrument of vengeance.

Draske, the original Orakhan of Ull, murdered his brother, who he saw as a threat to his power. Big mistake: He earned the eternal hatred of his brother's young bride, who loved her husband passionately. She fled to the mountains, where she found sanctuary with her husband's ogre allies. She noticed the sheer strength and fighting skill of the ogre chief, and a plan came to mind...

Many years later, Draske was slain in mortal combat by Bruzharag, the half-ogre son of Draske's former sister-in-law and the massive ogre chieftain who gave her shelter. Bruzharag then seized the throne and set himself up as the new orakhan, giving his mother a prime seat of power as his chief advisor, even as his father is honored by being the ogre leader to receive his royal favor above and beyond all the other ogres in Ulsprue.

Now, this occurred with an ogre rather than an orc as the father, but you could just as easily substitute a really big, really powerful orc to serve as the father.

24) Another case might be a barbarian tribe who is closely allied with an orc tribe. Together, they've proven victorious time and again against any enemy stupid or unlucky enough to cross them.

The intermingling between races has become something more-each race admires the other's physical strength and fighting prowess, and men from both races are taking brides from the other. The half-orc children that arise from this marriage are frightening warriors in combat, renowned for their physical strength and combining the drive and passion of the humans with the savagery and fierceness of the orcs.

In neither case is there any rape-the parents get together either to further their own power, or simply out of a mutual respect and admiration born of the deeds they've accomplished together.

 

[Slife]

Yeah, I think if a Charisma 3 human can get some action, a Charisma 14 orc also can.

That implies that the higher the charisma, the more half-breeds, correct?

Explains all the half-dragons.

 

[The Ubbergeek]

Magic. they take human shapes... and so probably can make their look as they wish. With the aura of specialness that must be around them, they are probably... strangely fascinating, even very attractive if they wish.