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<blockquote data-quote="pemerton" data-source="post: 7963653" data-attributes="member: 42582">Suppose that one is playing in an AD&amp;D game, where the GM uses the option of having 1 in 4 ruffians (&quot;fellows of shabby appearance and mean disposition&quot; ) that are encounered in a city or town be orcs, half-orcs, goblins, hobgoblins, kobolds etc.Five percent of daytime and 7% of nighttime encounters are with ruffians, and cheks are to be made every half-hour of game time. So in an urban-based campaign, the PCs might end up encountering quite a number of such fellows.In that context, I would be surprised if it was treated as the norm to kill every orc encountered. Of course wariness would be in order, and combat with them might well occur - perhaps frequently, depending on how the goals of the ruffians and the PCs relate to one another. But one can't just go through the town cutting down every ruffian encountered!This is the sort of conideration that leads me to assert that it is not central to the traditions of D&amp;D that orcs are, per se, permissible targets for killing. That depends on the sort of game being played. An urban game of the sort I've just outlined will typically not be a game of &quot;moral certainty&quot; in which orcs are default targets for lethal violence. But such a game isn't any sort of significant departure from the canons of D&amp;D.</blockquote>

[QUOTE="pemerton, post: 7963653, member: 42582"] Suppose that one is playing in an AD&D game, where the GM uses the option of having 1 in 4 ruffians ("fellows of shabby appearance and mean disposition" ) that are encounered in a city or town be orcs, half-orcs, goblins, hobgoblins, kobolds etc. Five percent of daytime and 7% of nighttime encounters are with ruffians, and cheks are to be made every half-hour of game time. So in an urban-based campaign, the PCs might end up encountering quite a number of such fellows. In that context, I would be surprised if it was treated as the norm to kill every orc encountered. Of course wariness would be in order, and combat with them might well occur - perhaps frequently, depending on how the goals of the ruffians and the PCs relate to one another. But one can't just go through the town cutting down every ruffian encountered! This is the sort of conideration that leads me to assert that it is not central to the traditions of D&D that orcs are, per se, permissible targets for killing. That depends on the sort of game being played. An urban game of the sort I've just outlined will typically not be a game of "moral certainty" in which orcs are default targets for lethal violence. But such a game isn't any sort of significant departure from the canons of D&D. [/QUOTE]

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