Derulbaskul
Adventurer
I think these were called Losel in 2E D&D.
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NOW LIVE! Into the Woods--new character species, eerie monsters, and haunting villains to populate the woodlands of your D&D games.
How do you spice up your orcs?
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I think these were called Losel in 2E D&D.
Pig Champion
First Post
Warhammer 40k has done some wonderful things with the Orcs. I used most of the 40k Orc mythology, which is really cool (look up Gork and Mork).
My Orcs were bred as slaves by Goblins whom have mastered the art of magitek. Basically, with the help of mecha suits, the Goblins rounded up the finest barbarian warriors they could find and bred them with Goblins. The children were then enhanced by magic in a farm like system before growing into slavery.
However two brothers (Gork and Mork) rose up and broke away with enough warriors to cause trouble. Eventually they took down the Goblin city state and lead the Orcs into freedom.
In my campaign, the age of Gork and Mork has just ended with them dying of old age.
Hope some of that helps spark some cool ideas for you.
My Orcs were bred as slaves by Goblins whom have mastered the art of magitek. Basically, with the help of mecha suits, the Goblins rounded up the finest barbarian warriors they could find and bred them with Goblins. The children were then enhanced by magic in a farm like system before growing into slavery.
However two brothers (Gork and Mork) rose up and broke away with enough warriors to cause trouble. Eventually they took down the Goblin city state and lead the Orcs into freedom.
In my campaign, the age of Gork and Mork has just ended with them dying of old age.
Hope some of that helps spark some cool ideas for you.
Festivus
First Post
I have run them tribal before, as others have said. I have always wanted them to be the grey area antagonists, where they are "evil" only because they have been mistreated by the fair races for so long... cheated, betrayed, and oppressed peoples longing only for equality, almost forced to fight. Then your real enemy can be the employer of the party... revealed only at the most climactic moment.
Celebrim
Legend
It's been a long time since I did anything with orcs, because in 9th grade I went - 'There are two many ugly demihumans. Orcs or Goblins, one of you has got to go!', and it was Orcs I tossed out as the lesser of the two.
However, an orc focused campaign would have as adversaries:
Orc beserkers
Orcs assault troops mounted on Dire Boars
Orcish Wereboars
Ogres, aka 'Giant Orcs' (also, huge advanced Ogres, two-headed ogres (and 3 and 5 headed))
Trolls (also giant and multi-headed)
Armored War Mammoths (see Columbian Mammoth)
Orcs mounted on Pterodons
Orc war priests bolstering the morale of the fighting force.
Orc witch doctors summoning various elemental spirits of destruction.
Orc Zombies.
Orc Wights.
Orc Vampires.
If you are using 3.X, alot can be done with hordes of 2nd/3rd/4th level fighters and interesting combinations of feats and the right tactics. Dig through 3rd party sourcebooks on mass combat for feats and ideas, and don't be afraid to smith out the feats you think you need to make the idea viable.
To give a hint away from my own rules:
HEAVY INFANTRY [GENERAL, TACTICAL, FIGHTER]
You are trained to perform as heavy infanty.
Prerequisite: Tactics 4 Ranks, Base attack bonus +1
Benefits: You are capable of performing the following tactics.
Legionaire: When formed in a shield wall, you gain a +2 bonus on reflex saves against spells or spell-like effects, and you are treated as possessing evasion. (If exposed to any effect which allows a reflex save for half damage, on a successful save the character takes no damage.)
Professional: You can take 10 on a tactics skill checks to fight in Close Formation, Fight in Ranks, Form a Phalanx, or Form a Shield Wall regardless of distractions.
Weight of the Formation: You gain a +1 circumstance bonus to hit for each rank of heavy infantry formed up behind you, to a maximum of a +3 bonus.
However, an orc focused campaign would have as adversaries:
Orc beserkers
Orcs assault troops mounted on Dire Boars
Orcish Wereboars
Ogres, aka 'Giant Orcs' (also, huge advanced Ogres, two-headed ogres (and 3 and 5 headed))
Trolls (also giant and multi-headed)
Armored War Mammoths (see Columbian Mammoth)
Orcs mounted on Pterodons
Orc war priests bolstering the morale of the fighting force.
Orc witch doctors summoning various elemental spirits of destruction.
Orc Zombies.
Orc Wights.
Orc Vampires.
If you are using 3.X, alot can be done with hordes of 2nd/3rd/4th level fighters and interesting combinations of feats and the right tactics. Dig through 3rd party sourcebooks on mass combat for feats and ideas, and don't be afraid to smith out the feats you think you need to make the idea viable.
To give a hint away from my own rules:
HEAVY INFANTRY [GENERAL, TACTICAL, FIGHTER]
You are trained to perform as heavy infanty.
Prerequisite: Tactics 4 Ranks, Base attack bonus +1
Benefits: You are capable of performing the following tactics.
Legionaire: When formed in a shield wall, you gain a +2 bonus on reflex saves against spells or spell-like effects, and you are treated as possessing evasion. (If exposed to any effect which allows a reflex save for half damage, on a successful save the character takes no damage.)
Professional: You can take 10 on a tactics skill checks to fight in Close Formation, Fight in Ranks, Form a Phalanx, or Form a Shield Wall regardless of distractions.
Weight of the Formation: You gain a +1 circumstance bonus to hit for each rank of heavy infantry formed up behind you, to a maximum of a +3 bonus.
My Orcs were pretty much ripped off of Klingons, particularly the bits about talking all sorts of smack about honor, and then spending the majority of their lives stabbing each other in the back, poisoning their leaders and dealing behind the scenes with their hated foes.
Wrath & Rage (from Green Ronin) had an assortment of interesting ideas for orcish variations, none of which I remember that well, but kinda/sorta like;
Orcs adapt. If you wipe out a tribe with fire magic, ten years later, a new tribe with fire resistance will have cropped up. (Also a common assumption in GURPS, where Orcs had a random 10 pt advantage, which was night vision for some tribes, natural armor for others, keen senses of smell and tracking for still others, usable fangs, etc.)
Orcs are degenerate members of other races, and, like Firefly's Reavers, are only 'strong' because they are feral and insane. A pack of 'Orcs' might include some elves, some humans, and even the odd halfling, all raving freaks with greenish-brown tinted skin, as a result of whatever fungal condition makes them this way. Captured members of other species can be turned into orcs by exposure to this slime that grows in their caves.
Orcs are a plague upon the land, sent down by the gods, or perhaps just one god, of bloody slaughter and forever war, to both challenge the civilized races, and to keep the wild places wild.
Orcs are like WoW Tauren, all shamanistic and nature-worshipping Native American pastiches, with totem poles (and totem animals, and totem warriors, and berserkers who turn into real bears) and teepees and coup sticks and howling feather-headressed-warriors riding across the plains on big painted horses.
Orcs are primitive humans, replacing neanderthals / cro-magnon in the setting.
Orcs are living embodiments of rage, all possession Rage and Ferocity like traits, and being consumed by hate, anger and simmering (barely, if at all) suppressed violence at all times.
Orcs are living embodiments of fecundity, and orc females produce prodigious broods of young, mostly males. Going way to the extreme, Orc females might be enormous bloated hags (perhaps even using actual Hag stats!), the size of Ogres, with a half-dozen breasts, as they produce young in litters. These 'mothers' remain in the caves and lairs, pumping out warriors, and have the powers of Adepts and / or Sorcerers and / or Witches (perhaps even Clerics or Druids, in other cases).
Orcs breed with anything, and a 1/2 Orc template that gives pretty much any critter a +2 Str, -2 Int and Darkvision is strapped onto various creatures in the area, including the domesticated wolves, horses, etc. that the Orcs use as beasts of burden and hunting animals. Full blood Orcs get a +2 to Handle Animal or Intimidate checks against 1/2 blood, allowing them to better tame (or cow) creatures whose bloodlines they've tainted with their own blood.
Wrath & Rage (from Green Ronin) had an assortment of interesting ideas for orcish variations, none of which I remember that well, but kinda/sorta like;
Orcs adapt. If you wipe out a tribe with fire magic, ten years later, a new tribe with fire resistance will have cropped up. (Also a common assumption in GURPS, where Orcs had a random 10 pt advantage, which was night vision for some tribes, natural armor for others, keen senses of smell and tracking for still others, usable fangs, etc.)
Orcs are degenerate members of other races, and, like Firefly's Reavers, are only 'strong' because they are feral and insane. A pack of 'Orcs' might include some elves, some humans, and even the odd halfling, all raving freaks with greenish-brown tinted skin, as a result of whatever fungal condition makes them this way. Captured members of other species can be turned into orcs by exposure to this slime that grows in their caves.
Orcs are a plague upon the land, sent down by the gods, or perhaps just one god, of bloody slaughter and forever war, to both challenge the civilized races, and to keep the wild places wild.
Orcs are like WoW Tauren, all shamanistic and nature-worshipping Native American pastiches, with totem poles (and totem animals, and totem warriors, and berserkers who turn into real bears) and teepees and coup sticks and howling feather-headressed-warriors riding across the plains on big painted horses.
Orcs are primitive humans, replacing neanderthals / cro-magnon in the setting.
Orcs are living embodiments of rage, all possession Rage and Ferocity like traits, and being consumed by hate, anger and simmering (barely, if at all) suppressed violence at all times.
Orcs are living embodiments of fecundity, and orc females produce prodigious broods of young, mostly males. Going way to the extreme, Orc females might be enormous bloated hags (perhaps even using actual Hag stats!), the size of Ogres, with a half-dozen breasts, as they produce young in litters. These 'mothers' remain in the caves and lairs, pumping out warriors, and have the powers of Adepts and / or Sorcerers and / or Witches (perhaps even Clerics or Druids, in other cases).
Orcs breed with anything, and a 1/2 Orc template that gives pretty much any critter a +2 Str, -2 Int and Darkvision is strapped onto various creatures in the area, including the domesticated wolves, horses, etc. that the Orcs use as beasts of burden and hunting animals. Full blood Orcs get a +2 to Handle Animal or Intimidate checks against 1/2 blood, allowing them to better tame (or cow) creatures whose bloodlines they've tainted with their own blood.
Dandu
First Post
One idea I toyed around with is to have two different branches of orcs, one which is intelligent and strong, and another which is dumber but much stronger.
The backstory being that the orcs Gruumsh first created eventually left him and embraced shamanism and druidism, so he created a second race modeled on the first, but much more savage and less intelligent so they wouldn't be smart enough to defy him.
Of course, both groups hate each other, and neither has a particular reason to be friendly towards humans either...
The backstory being that the orcs Gruumsh first created eventually left him and embraced shamanism and druidism, so he created a second race modeled on the first, but much more savage and less intelligent so they wouldn't be smart enough to defy him.
Of course, both groups hate each other, and neither has a particular reason to be friendly towards humans either...
How do you do "honorable but very very evil"? Perhaps it's the late hour, but I am having trouble conceptualizing it.
