Half-orc: What to add?

[Mighty Halfling]

My half-orc house rules ...
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Of course a half-orc would have its typical abilities, as described by the Player's Handbook:

• +2 Strength, –2 Intelligence, –2 Charisma. A half-orc’s starting Intelligence score is always at least 3. If this adjustment would lower the character’s score to 1 or 2, his score is nevertheless 3.
• Medium: As Medium creatures, half-orcs have no special bonuses or penalties due to their size.
• Speed: Half-orc base land speed is 30 feet.
• Darkvision: Half-orcs (and orcs) can see in the dark up to 60 feet. Darkvision is black and white only, but it is otherwise like normal sight, and half-orcs can function just fine with no light at all.
• Orc Blood: For all effects related to race, a half-orc is considered an orc.
• Automatic Languages: Common and Orc. Bonus Languages: Draconic, Giant, Gnoll, Goblin, and Abyssal.
• Favored Class: Barbarian. A multiclass half-orc’s barbarian class does not count when determining whether he takes an experience point penalty.

Then they can add these two things ...

• Iron Stomach: Half-orcs can eat any plant or organic matter to avoid starvation, including rotten meat, spoiled milk, boiled leather, leaves, saplings and even dung. This material must be broken down into small enough portions to fit in their mouth and down their throat. Typically, they can make a Survival check (DC 5 plus environmental modifiers) and they find enough material to sustain them for a day. Additionally, they are immune to all food-borne diseases and infections, but not poisons applied to their food.
  
• Selective Bonus: Because half-orcs are a varied race with a diverse heritage, at 1st level a half-orc selects one of the following traits.
  
  --- Intimidator. Intimidate becomes a class skill and it is thereafter based on Strength, rather than Charisma.
  --- Free Feat - Alertness. Like their orcish parent, this is now a bonus feat.
  --- Free Feat - one Exotic Weapon Proficiency. Orcs love strange and bizarre weapons, and often train with them from an early age.
  --- Disease resistant. The unique resistance a half-orc develops because of his dual parentage provides him with amazing immunities. A disease-resistant half-orc earns a +4 resistance to any disease, even magical ones.
  --- Extended Darkvision. Some orcs who live underground have especially acute darkvision. As such, some half-orcs have a 90-foot range on their darkvision.

 

[Stormborn]

You can find a lot of variant races here. I am currently playing a desert half-orc cleric and having no problems.

 

[smootrk]

I have often tweaked half-orcs to have certain features such as:
bonus feats like toughness, orc weapons, scent (rarely), etc. most examples are listed above by others.
Intimidate bonus, and uses STR instead of CHA.
Bonus Skill Points for things like Survival, Knowledge Local (local orc tribes, or human region depending on upbringing), Intimidate, regardless of normal class skills.

Another great way for beefing up a 1/2Orc character is to use Paragon levels.

 

[SteelDraco]

I give half-orcs a +2 bonus to Intimidate and Survival, Improved Toughness as a bonus feat, and a +2 AC bonus against rolls to confirm critical hits. Nobody wanted to play one, anyway. *shrugs*

 

[Thurbane]

IMC, here's how 1/2 Orcs look:


+2 STR, -2 INT
Darkvision
Orc Blood
FC: Barbarian
+2 racial bonus on Intimidate and Survival
-2 racial penalty on all other CHA skills, except Intimidate and UMD

 

[Machiavelli]

Another great way for beefing up a 1/2Orc character is to use Paragon levels.

Really? You're not the first I've heard say this, so there may be some truth there. Still, the paragon levels don't seem so much better to me than base class levels. Even going H-Orc/Orc Paragon for 6 levels, all you get is 3d8+3d10 Hitdice, +6 BAB, +6 Fort, +2 Ref/Will, Darkvision 90', +4 Intimidate, +2 damage vs elves, rage 1/day, and +4 Str.

Somehow, even with the strength bonus, it looks to be comparable to 6 barbarian levels. The barbarian would have less strength, but would rage twice per day (that's one extra set of temporary hitpoints and will save bonuses) and have 6d12 hitdice instead of 3d8+3d10. The barbarian would also be 10' faster and have Improved Uncanny Dodge. Overall, much more survivable, at a loss of darkvision and +4 Strength partly mitigated by the +4 strength during that extra rage.

I just don't see the power level of the paragon levels being so far above barbarian levels as to excuse the half-orc's unattractiveness as a PC.

 

[Darklone]

Last time we had several of these discussions at once, FrankDM had a lot of stylish feats of which a half-orc could pick one at level 1. They rocked.

 

[Rhun]

I drop the charisma penalty, give them a +2 bonus on Intimidate and Survival, and a -2 penalty on diplomacy.

 

[BartD]

So many interesting options, here's what I think I'll go with (I will also try to remove the dwarf charisma penalty, probably move it to dexterity because they are a slow medium race and to make them less superiour warriors) :

Half-orc changes: No penalty to charisma. Charisma is as much presence and force of personality as it is likeability, and while half-orcs may be somewhat crude they are rarely shy or insecure. Half-orcs tend to be rough, tough and direct so they get -2 to Diplomacy checks but +2 to Intimidate and saves versus fear. They also get a bonus feat chosen from: Endurance, Self-Sufficient or Toughness.

I think most of it has been mentioned either here or in the thread at RPGnet. The +2 to saves versus fear counters the +2 to Intimidate without and "toward other races"-clause and I think it fits. I'm not entirely happy about giving a list of feats to choose from.

 

[Aust Diamondew]

Extra skill points as per human is my typical house rule.

That way they get some thing from both side of the family.