D&D General Old School DND talks if DND is racist.

[Charlaquin]

Like most races (and intelligent monsters for that matter) they represent an aspect of humanity. In the case of orcs it's unthinking rage, might makes right, bully, take what you want aspects. The brutal, nasty, unthinking side of humanity.

It's a game. Not sure what else you want. They fill a niche in the fiction for a lot of people including pretty much everyone I've ever actually gamed with in person.

Ok, this explains to me why you like orcs to be that way. And that’s fine, if you enjoy that, go to town! Have a blast. What it doesn’t do is explain how giving orcs more diversity and nuance makes them “human.”

 

[Oofta]

Ok, this explains to me why you like orcs to be that way. And that’s fine, if you enjoy that, go to town! Have a blast. What it doesn’t do is explain how giving orcs more diversity and nuance makes them “human.”

Because humans could also fill those roles? Because if they act and behave just like human I see no point?

In any case, there has been some interesting discussion, but is there really a point on continuing? I mean, I have a bad habit of responding to people that ask me direct question but there's really nothing else here. We're not going to agree and that's fine. I rarely use them but they're still a useful (if oversimplified, stupid, "boring") monster every once in a while.

Besides orcs are just scratching the surface. What about bugbears, bullywugs, derro, drow, duergar, gnolls, goblins. Oh, and don't forget grimlocks, hobgoblins and on and on. But those are only the humanoids, there dragons and mindflayers and medusa and on and on.

It's a game. Monsters serve a purpose in the game as adversaries. Feel free to make them more than that.

 

[Mind of tempest]

Like most races (and intelligent monsters for that matter) they represent an aspect of humanity. In the case of orcs it's unthinking rage, might makes right, bully, take what you want aspects. The brutal, nasty, unthinking side of humanity.

It's a game. Not sure what else you want. They fill a niche in the fiction for a lot of people including pretty much everyone I've ever actually gamed with in person.

look I know what unthinking rage is and honestly, orcs are not it, they have always been bandits on steroids believe me they are far too weak and human for it.

 

[Oofta]

look I know what unthinking rage is and honestly, orcs are not it, they have always been bandits on steroids believe me they are far too weak and human for it.

IMHO like zombies, they're weak individually and only a significant threat in large numbers. They just don't have worms for brains.

 

[MGibster]

I really dig 40k orks. They've got oodles and oodles of nuance and a fairly complex society but almost to an ork they're all interested in fighting just for the sake of fighting.

 

[Voadam]

1. Hire some unscrupulous druids to Awaken cows and pigs.
2. Lay brain-eggs in now-sentient cows and pigs.
3. Guilt-trip any non-vegetarian humans & humanoids who hassle them over it.
4. Profit!

In cerebromorphosis don't the tadpoles eat the brains and grow tentacles out of the face basically keeping the humanoid body but psionically altering the flesh and growing tentacles/altering the mouth of the original humanoid body?

So this is a way to make your flayer babies grow into quadrupeds with no opposable thumbs instead of a humanoid biological chasis.

 

[Justice and Rule]

I really dig 40k orks. They've got oodles and oodles of nuance and a fairly complex society but almost to an ork they're all interested in fighting just for the sake of fighting.

40K lore on Orks is just fantastic. The simple complexities, the complex simplicities, it's just all there. There's a wild, manic energy to them that you can't help but fall into.

'Ere we go, 'ere we go, 'ere we go...

 

[Justice and Rule]

In cerebromorphosis don't the tadpoles eat the brains and grow tentacles out of the face basically keeping the humanoid body but psionically altering the flesh and growing tentacles/altering the mouth of the original humanoid body?

So this is a way to make your flayer babies grow into quadrupeds with no opposable thumbs instead of a humanoid biological chasis.

I mean, it's worked out before.

 

[Voadam]

'Ere we go, 'ere we go, 'ere we go...

Tru da Kosmos!

 

[Scribe]

No one has ever been able to explain to me how “not inherently evil” = “humans with (insert flippant descriptive element)”

If Alignment is the issue, that's already been covered though. It's not applied to PCs.

Having a culture that doesn't mesh with its neighbors is fine.

Other than (once again) Volos, what's the problem? Not everyone wants a cosmopolitan world. Eberron is fine, for those who want it. Sigil is conceptually fantastic for subverting tropes.

A world where there isn't massive open migration is going to have strong established cultures. Where those cultures originate from matters. If that source is a hateful war god in a world where Gods, and Clerics, and Magic is real, and you could literal find yourself before your God having a conversation?

Well for my money, your going to have a culture that matches that gods ideals.

My Orcs are not savages in furs. They are brutal, organized, prosperous, and supporting of the people they rule over.

They do rule though, they don't accept challenges to that rule, and they firmly believe in their own superiority.

Now is that evil? It's absolutely a brutal dictatorship, but those who live their have peace, and a better quality of life than the human kingdom neighboring them.

Maybe it's evil, but the Orcs don't think so.