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Message: <blockquote data-quote="Doug McCrae" data-source="post: 8048061" data-attributes="member: 21169">[USER=6855114]@Helldritch[/USER] The orcs and goblins in 1974 OD&D derive largely from Tolkien's The Lord of the Rings and The Hobbit respectively. Orcs are divided into tribes and there is "inter-tribal hostility". They can have "strong leader/protector types" - fighting-man, magic-user, balrog, ogres, or trolls. The first two are found with orcs that live in villages (defended by ditch, palisade, tower, and catapult), the last three with orcs that live in caves. Wandering orcs escorting wagons may also be led by a fighting-man or magic-user, but not by a monster.Goblins, kobolds, hobgoblins, and gnolls are all basically the same creature. "Treat these monsters [kobolds] as if they were Goblins". "[Hobgoblins] are large and fearless Goblins". "[Gnolls] are similar to Hobgoblins". Goblins, hobgoblins, and gnolls are stated to be led by a king of their own kind. The same is presumably true of kobolds.The reasoning for different alignments may have been:1) Orc tribes of different alignments are more likely to fight one another.2) Human-led village/wagon orcs are neutral and monster-led cave orcs are chaotic (though the text doesn't specify that). The village and wagon orcs seem likelier candidates to be considered "civilised".EDIT:3) Orcs associate with a wide variety of other beings, including humans and monsters. That's easier if they can be of more than one alignment.</blockquote>

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