Orcs: How Important Are They?

[BiggusGeekus]

To everyone who voted orcs as lame: you're on notice!

 

[freyar]

I voted for the middle option, not because orcs or goblinoids are "meh" but because they largely fill the same niche -- it all depends on what flavor you want. Right now, I'm running a campaign in Erlkazar in the Realms, where orcs have been killed off hundreds of years before but goblinoids have a heavy presence. (And have thus far been the main nemesis for my PCs.) OTOH, I may soon run another campaign with orcs as the primary brutes.

I like the orcs as Klingons analogy. Continuing with that, hobgoblins are Romulans. One thing that's always bothered me about orcs, though, is that they're a different subtype than goblinoid.

 

[GreatLemur]

Warhammer (and, to a lesser degree, Warcraft) made me love orcs. But, honestly, I wouldn't ever use them in any kind of homebrew setting, unless I was doing some kind of deliberate reference to old-school gaming tropes. For example, I'd use 'em if I was going to do the whole "PCs as 'monsters' who defend themselves from greedy adventurers" bit, or something similar. Otherwise, it's plenty easy to fill their role with savage humans (eliminating the false moral absolutism of humans-vs.-orcs genocidal conflict), or with some more interesting non-human race.

 

[BiggusGeekus]

I like the orcs as Klingons analogy. Continuing with that, hobgoblins are Romulans.

Yeah!

Orcs started out as alignment LE and got spun over to CE in third edition. But Grummush stayed LE. Oops. But that really sets up a nice Klingon aspect to them. Orcs are brutal, violent and prone to lash out, but they have a deity who demands and imposes order. So orcs as individuals beat the crap out of each other and have an uneven understanding of their code, while orcs as a society have a rigid social structure. What's not to love?

And the hobgoblins-as-Romulans bit tickles my fancy!

 

[Voadam]

I think they are cool but Dark Sun, Dragonlance, and Ravenloft are fine without them.

Monster selection is a matter for campaign flavor, no creature is essential for a D&D campaign setting. Ravenloft does fine without dragons too.

 

[Presto2112]

Orcs AND Drow are both non-existant in my homebrew, so my vote is "Not Important At All".

 

[Drowbane]

I think they are cool but Dark Sun, Dragonlance, and Ravenloft are fine without them.

Monster selection is a matter for campaign flavor, no creature is essential for a D&D campaign setting. Ravenloft does fine without dragons too.

Your ravenloft doesn't have dragons?!

o.0

 

[theemrys]

Ooh, now I think hobgoblins are the awesomest bad guy humanoid. Lawful evil and as intelligent as humans - I see them as having potential as basically fantasy Nazis. What decent character couldn't hate humanoids like that?!

I love hobgoblins as well, but orcs are great.

I love the treatment of both in Kingdoms of Kalamar. The orc is more of the wasteland savages (CE) and more apelike, while hobgoblins are the LE humaniods that have kingdoms that trade with others but still plan to take over the world.

 

[Hrothgar]

In 1st and 2nd Ed., I grew to abhor the orcs, simply because they were drawn with pig-noses (not too mention the morning cartoon way back). What a lame excuse that art could influence my opinion so much. As far as I was concerned, they were a challenge for 1st-2nd level characters and left behind as soon as possible.

The Midnight setting however, has turned me into an orc-lover. Worshipers of Shadow. No Gruumsh. Incredible artwork. No-pig noses. Not too mention with 3rd Ed. and class levels and the LotR movies (where orcs do not have pig-noses), orcs are wayyyy cool for me.

If I were to run a Greyhawk campaign again, yes, I would use them as major antagonists rather than low-level character fodder.

 

[painandgreed]

I think orcs are as critical to D&D as Dragons. Sure, you could run a game without either but it would be a non-standard game.

IMC, I use them as the "born evil" race. They are a corruption of elves by the gods of chaos. Orcs are only male and have the racial ability to procreate with any other humanoid race which always produces a half orc. Half orcs always produce a half orc unless the parents were both half orcs and you get a full blooded orc. Their entire culture from Gruumsh on down is based upon slavery, rape, and cannibalism. Even the goblinoids find them repulsive, but consider them a needed resource against humans, dwarves, and elves. I've tried my best to make them a race that even the goodest of the good can kill on sight without the morale arguments that pop up here all the time.