Menu
News
All News
Dungeons & Dragons
Level Up: Advanced 5th Edition
Pathfinder
Starfinder
Warhammer
2d20 System
Year Zero Engine
Industry News
Reviews
Dragon Reflections
White Dwarf Reflections
Columns
Weekly Digests
Weekly News Digest
Freebies, Sales & Bundles
RPG Print News
RPG Crowdfunding News
Game Content
ENterplanetary DimENsions
Mythological Figures
Opinion
Worlds of Design
Peregrine's Nest
RPG Evolution
Other Columns
From the Freelancing Frontline
Monster ENcyclopedia
WotC/TSR Alumni Look Back
4 Hours w/RSD (Ryan Dancey)
The Road to 3E (Jonathan Tweet)
Greenwood's Realms (Ed Greenwood)
Drawmij's TSR (Jim Ward)
Community
Forums & Topics
Forum List
Latest Posts
Forum list
*Dungeons & Dragons
Level Up: Advanced 5th Edition
D&D Older Editions, OSR, & D&D Variants
*TTRPGs General
*Pathfinder & Starfinder
EN Publishing
*Geek Talk & Media
Search forums
Chat/Discord
Resources
Wiki
Pages
Latest activity
Media
New media
New comments
Search media
Downloads
Latest reviews
Search resources
EN Publishing
Store
EN5ider
Adventures in ZEITGEIST
Awfully Cheerful Engine
What's OLD is NEW
Judge Dredd & The Worlds Of 2000AD
War of the Burning Sky
Level Up: Advanced 5E
Events & Releases
Upcoming Events
Private Events
Featured Events
Socials!
EN Publishing
Twitter
BlueSky
Facebook
Instagram
EN World
BlueSky
YouTube
Facebook
Twitter
Twitch
Podcast
Features
Top 5 RPGs Compiled Charts 2004-Present
Adventure Game Industry Market Research Summary (RPGs) V1.0
Ryan Dancey: Acquiring TSR
Q&A With Gary Gygax
D&D Rules FAQs
TSR, WotC, & Paizo: A Comparative History
D&D Pronunciation Guide
Million Dollar TTRPG Kickstarters
Tabletop RPG Podcast Hall of Fame
Eric Noah's Unofficial D&D 3rd Edition News
D&D in the Mainstream
D&D & RPG History
About Morrus
Log in
Register
What's new
Search
Search
Search titles only
By:
Forums & Topics
Forum List
Latest Posts
Forum list
*Dungeons & Dragons
Level Up: Advanced 5th Edition
D&D Older Editions, OSR, & D&D Variants
*TTRPGs General
*Pathfinder & Starfinder
EN Publishing
*Geek Talk & Media
Search forums
Chat/Discord
Menu
Log in
Register
Install the app
Install
Upgrade your account to a Community Supporter account and remove most of the site ads.
Community
General Tabletop Discussion
*Dungeons & Dragons
I really like orcs & goblins, and stories that incorporate them.
JavaScript is disabled. For a better experience, please enable JavaScript in your browser before proceeding.
You are using an out of date browser. It may not display this or other websites correctly.
You should upgrade or use an
alternative browser
.
Reply to thread
Message
<blockquote data-quote="Sunseeker" data-source="post: 7269411"><p>I submit that you have your position backwards: that orcs have <em>classically</em> held the place of demons. </p><p></p><p>As far as "standard D&D setup" goes that's a weak argument. Since I can't think of an official campaign in recent years (lets say, the last decade) where orcs were innately evil. As bad guys? As bad guys whose motivations we never analyzed? Sure. I don't think that's the same as saying they're born evil though.</p><p></p><p></p><p>Of course there's no accounting for taste. And certainly someone <em>could</em> draw the line elsewhere. In none of my statements have I not prefaced my comments with "I think..." or "IMO..." or "My preference is..."</p><p></p><p>My orcs are not innately evil because I find it more interesting for them not to be. It makes more sense to me that a mortal race, requiring food, rest, companionship and all the other functions of the flesh would have rationalized motivations for seeking the things they need, just like anyone else. Immortal races that do not require food (or require vast quantities or unique foods) do not require rest or companionship therefore do not play by the same rules. They have no <em>needs</em> driving their actions, only <em>wants</em>. Orcs may do what is perceived as evil only because their goals, values and needs conflict with ours. </p><p></p><p>In case you were asking, IMO:</p><p>Giants aren't innately evil for the same reason, they're just big humanoids.</p><p>Undead are by-and-large non-sentient. The few that are (and I stress few) are usually created via black magic that corrupts the mind/body/soul. Some undead may fight against this, but the "cure" for their corruption is usually final death.</p><p>Dragons walk the line because they are nearly immortal, but have all the same physical needs as a mortal, just 100 fold. Dragons gravitate toward ideological extremes as they age. As their perspective disconnects from mortality. </p><p></p><p>I've already gone through and addressed this with all the races in my setting.</p></blockquote><p></p>
[QUOTE="Sunseeker, post: 7269411"] I submit that you have your position backwards: that orcs have [I]classically[/I] held the place of demons. As far as "standard D&D setup" goes that's a weak argument. Since I can't think of an official campaign in recent years (lets say, the last decade) where orcs were innately evil. As bad guys? As bad guys whose motivations we never analyzed? Sure. I don't think that's the same as saying they're born evil though. Of course there's no accounting for taste. And certainly someone [I]could[/I] draw the line elsewhere. In none of my statements have I not prefaced my comments with "I think..." or "IMO..." or "My preference is..." My orcs are not innately evil because I find it more interesting for them not to be. It makes more sense to me that a mortal race, requiring food, rest, companionship and all the other functions of the flesh would have rationalized motivations for seeking the things they need, just like anyone else. Immortal races that do not require food (or require vast quantities or unique foods) do not require rest or companionship therefore do not play by the same rules. They have no [I]needs[/I] driving their actions, only [I]wants[/I]. Orcs may do what is perceived as evil only because their goals, values and needs conflict with ours. In case you were asking, IMO: Giants aren't innately evil for the same reason, they're just big humanoids. Undead are by-and-large non-sentient. The few that are (and I stress few) are usually created via black magic that corrupts the mind/body/soul. Some undead may fight against this, but the "cure" for their corruption is usually final death. Dragons walk the line because they are nearly immortal, but have all the same physical needs as a mortal, just 100 fold. Dragons gravitate toward ideological extremes as they age. As their perspective disconnects from mortality. I've already gone through and addressed this with all the races in my setting. [/QUOTE]
Insert quotes…
Verification
Post reply
Community
General Tabletop Discussion
*Dungeons & Dragons
I really like orcs & goblins, and stories that incorporate them.
Top