D&D 5E An Orcs(or Goblin)-ploitation Urban Campaign

[Imaro]

So an idea for a campaign where all of the PCs are various types Goblinoids or Orcs, with Half-Orc being the only PHB race allowed. It would be mostly an urban setting that takes place in a large cosmopolitan Human city like Sharn from Eberron, with mixed with various races that tolerates, but not necessarily accepts Goblins and Orcs.

Tolerated but not accepted, puts the Goblins and Orcs in their own neighbourhoods such as Goblin-Town or the Orc-District which happen to be some of the poorer parts of the city. Most of the residents go about their own lives, keeping to those places since they aren't as accepted in a Human-dominated part of town. However non-Goblins and non-Orcs feel those parts of town are more dangerous, in some cases they might be right as they're definitely are gangs of Goblins or Orcs that often run territory in those parts of town.

In this city Goblins and Orcs do have a place in society, but are often the lower and working classes. Some of them do manage to become middle class, but mostly the Goblins and Orcs and the PCs would be of lower class backgrounds. As an urban campaign there's certainly going to be the element of fighting various sorts of gangs, whether the PCs join a criminal gang or work to take down a gang. Some of these gangs are of course on the lowest tier of a shadowy organization. The campaign could be of an "Orcsploitation" genre.

The PCs are assumed to be from Goblin-town or the Orc-District too. They could be of backgrounds such as: an Orc that's a dockworker looking for more to do their lives, a Goblin house maid who's employed by a Human noble who's up to something, a Bugbear gangster divided on whether to climb the ranks or turn on the gang, or a Hobgoblin veteran who never quite fit in the nation's Human-dominated army.

Why specifically goblins and orcs?

 

[aco175]

If done right, I can see this being fun. Get the players but in first and go over the race restrictions since some of my players would not like the restrictions.

Maybe add some to the backgrounds to add flavor and skills there. Not everyone needs to be criminal or urchin. There can be some stuff with making backgrounds reminding me of the old 2e version of "no skill of measurable worth". Working class jobs like butler or cook and add some contacts to the PCs. An underground academy where magic is taught to the lower class citizens.

You can also have just have a system where any race can become part of the lower class. The city can have a social ladder where people rise and fall based on wealth or merit, or even perception. You can be flying high in April and shot down in May. This allows for players to choose races and classes as they see fit and come up with a story to how they got there and how they plan to get on top (again).

 

[not-so-newguy]

Orconomics: A Satire (The Dark Profit Saga Book 1) by J Zachary Pike​

This is a great book that tries to tackle these social issues (and possibly 2008 recession too?). You might be able to draw ideas from the book. Although it's a great read, it's not the type of game I would be particularly interested in playing.

 

[Kobold Avenger]

Maybe add some to the backgrounds to add flavor and skills there. Not everyone needs to be criminal or urchin. There can be some stuff with making backgrounds reminding me of the old 2e version of "no skill of measurable worth". Working class jobs like butler or cook and add some contacts to the PCs. An underground academy where magic is taught to the lower class citizens.

You can also have just have a system where any race can become part of the lower class. The city can have a social ladder where people rise and fall based on wealth or merit, or even perception. You can be flying high in April and shot down in May. This allows for players to choose races and classes as they see fit and come up with a story to how they got there and how they plan to get on top (again).

I noticed there was a distinct lack of a "Laborer" background in 5e when checking DndBeyond, closest thing I saw was "Guild Artisan". Found it hard to label what a domestic servant might be as a background, though that came to my mind as the first thing I thought of was the exploitative image of a female Goblin in a French Maid uniform.

But I figured I'd have to make a few backgrounds up.

I do conceive of a few neighbourhoods that's of the Upper-Lower Class or Lower-Middle Class, where there's a more mixed population that might include some Goblins and Orcs living among the more traditional D&D humanoid races.

 

[Charlaquin]

In some ways the idea is based on the movie Bright, where it could be seen that the Orc cop Jaokby played by Joel Edgerton is basically a non-white person while Ward played by Will Smith is sort of a white-person stand in. That movie certainly dives into a lot of those tropes about Orcs and certain non-white minorities, while not being strictly "black"

Bright was... Not a good movie.

 

[Kobold Avenger]

I noticed it's a thing in some of those recommended books that "Goblin stink", that's something I'll deny (or at least they don't stink by choice) or leave completely ambiguous.

 

[Kobold Avenger]

Bright was... Not a good movie.

Not saying it was a good movie (as a lot of the movie was just a Will Smith vehicle), but it certainly had some points and probably needs a sequel (which is still apparently happening) or a series to expand to expand on it.

 

[Charlaquin]

Not saying it was a good movie (as a lot of the movie was just a Will Smith vehicle), but it certainly had some points and probably needs a sequel (which is still apparently happening) or a series to expand to expand on it.

I’m just gonna leave this here.

 

[Steampunkette]

My two cents, take 'em or leave 'em.

1) Get away from Orcs and Goblins as cultural monoliths. Create a variety of orcish and goblin customs and attitudes, identities and roles. Give those different cultures different attributes, abilities, and identities. Put Elves and Dwarves and Gnomes and Halflings and Humans all in the same "Poor District" of town. Definitely predominantly Orcish/Goblinoid, but engage with other cultural expectations, and have hybridization of cultural identities and races. And for the "Orcsploitation" aspect: Have the well-off characters ignore those differences and nuances.

2) Watch "Get Out". I'm sure you've seen a few Blaxploitation films by your posts and interests. But watch this film. Watch the -coding- that comes into play. The casual, even apologetic, nature of upper crust white folks trying not to upset the black guy in the room. Watch the discomfort their pussyfooting causes as they try to backpedal over mistakes and wind up just stepping right on the freshly opened wounds.

That'll help you create a more true to life level of quiet discomfort at the table as you peel back the layers of cultural oppression through a game!

 

[Kobold Avenger]

In my mind I always had Goblins and Orcs having a variety of cultures, it's just that most outsiders don't care. And would take a "fill in the blanks" approach where "outside" the city is going to be ambiguous, where things PCs and NPCs says about their culture might be true at least for where they're from, especially if they're immigrants and not second or third generation.

Based on other threads from before which went in strange places, I definitely have to state that Goblins and Orcs are mammals much like how most humanoids are. And are mostly recognizably male and female, though may have some genders or standards that are different from other Humanoids. They don't have highly unusual biologies, and most of them don't have really alien mind sets (offshoots like Nilbogs and possibly Blues being the exception).

How much one assimilates to "Human" culture or remains "true" to their Goblin/Orc culture will be a choice for each PC.