D&D (2024) The Half Orc. Are they still needed?

[Mistwell]

I do strongly suspect there will be half-orcs in the upcoming D&D revision. One basic premise of every single revision (as opposed to full new edition) is you will be able to, in some reasonable manner, convert over your existing long-loved and played PCs over to the new revision. Which means, in the very least, all the existing core races will in some manner be in the revision in some way. They won't be just called "orcs", though there may also be playable orcs. There will be some form of a half-orc race, if for nothing else because it's not a new edition of the game and it would piss off a portion of the audience needlessly that they cannot bring over their existing PCs that are based on the core book.

Also I don't think half-elves will ever leave D&D, even in a new edition. The half-elf as a concept race pre-dates D&D in pretty meaningful ways, through Lord of the Rings and other core fantasy concepts. 50 years of miniatures and artwork and player characters represent half-elves as distinct from elves. I think there is no chance half-elf leaves the game.

 

[Blue]

Preface: The larger issue of "race" in DnD and how it is changing and will be presented differently in 5+ed is it's own topic. The issue of "mixed race" and how it is presented, such as the half-elf, half-orc, and those of more extended lineage, such as Aasimar and Tieflings is it's own topic. That said, I fully expect this to eventually devolve into just arguments about those issues along a long enough timeline.

Premise: Given the "softening" of Orcs in the mainline documents and likely continued efforts to remove the idea that any given race of playable peoples in DnD are inherently evil, does it make sense to have Half Orcs as a playable option in the next iteration of the PHB? Should instead players just get rules for playing Orcs outright in the PHB?

Thoughts?

For some parts of it - "I want to play a traditionally foe culture", orcs work fine. For the "I am caught between by (brutish/aggessive/etc) half and my (civilized/weak/urbane) half" it is still good.

If subraces still existed, I'd love to see half-* as human subraces.

 

[DND_Reborn]

Nah, those are sufficiently different.

Perhaps to you...

 

[Professor Murder]

Also I don't think half-elves will ever leave D&D, even in a new edition. The half-elf as a concept race pre-dates D&D in pretty meaningful ways, through Lord of the Rings and other core fantasy concepts. 50 years of miniatures and artwork and player characters represent half-elves as distinct from elves. I think there is no chance half-elf leaves the game.

I had been thinking about this. What was the impetus of introducing Half-Orcs into AD&D? Half-Elves have Tolkien. Are Half-Orcs also cribbed from somewhere or are they an actual original creation?

 

[Composer99]

I had been thinking about this. What was the impetus of introducing Half-Orcs into AD&D? Half-Elves have Tolkien. Are Half-Orcs also cribbed from somewhere or are they an actual original creation?

D&D half-orcs are probably inspired by half-orcs in genre literature; there are half-orcs in LotR, for instance, which were Men whose blood was mixed with that of Orcs by the craft of Saruman. I'm not familiar enough with other genre literature that inspired D&D to say whether any of them having anything similar.

 

[LuisCarlos17f]

There is a wiki about PC races created by Litle Red Gobling, and lots of them are halfbreed, but it is 3rd Ed or Pathfinder 1.

Other option may be to add bloodtouched feats, for example a human with an elf ancestor could enjoy a elftouched feat.

 

[UngainlyTitan]

I am hoping (though in no great expectation) that races will be defined going forward as a number of independent traits, select 2 or 3 this would allow custom half whatever by combining a number of traits from the ancestor races.

 

[Mistwell]

I had been thinking about this. What was the impetus of introducing Half-Orcs into AD&D? Half-Elves have Tolkien. Are Half-Orcs also cribbed from somewhere or are they an actual original creation?

They are also in Tolkien though less prominent than half-elves. In The Two Towers, Gamling, a man of Rohan, refers to the army bred by Saruman as half-orcs and goblin-men. Tolkein later commented on half-orcs being a re-discovered of Saruman.

 

[Mistwell]

I am hoping (though in no great expectation) that races will be defined going forward as a number of independent traits, select 2 or 3 this would allow custom half whatever by combining a number of traits from the ancestor races.

Maybe in 6e but I just don't see that level of massive concept change in the revision - which I think you predict as well as you're saying you have no great expectation of it.
Seems like the creators keep stressing it's just a revision of existing rules and not even a half edition, but people on message boards (and I am guilty of this as well) keep filling the concept with new-edition level changes.

 

[CleverNickName]

I am hoping (though in no great expectation) that races will be defined going forward as a number of independent traits, select 2 or 3 this would allow custom half whatever by combining a number of traits from the ancestor races.

I like that idea. Something like:

HALF-ORC ANCESTRY TRAITS
You can read, write, and speak one additional language, such as Orc. Choose up to 3 additional traits from the following list.

Ability Score Increase: One ability score of your choice increases by 2 and a second ability score of your choice increases by 1 (to a maximum of 20).

Aggression: as a Bonus Action, you may move up to your speed toward an opponent.

Darkvision: you gain darkvision, too a distance of 60 feet.

Menacing: you are proficient with Intimidation, and your proficiency bonus for this skill is doubled.

Primal Savagery: You know the primal savagery cantrip. When you reach 3rd level, you may cast cause fear once with this trait, without using a spell slot. You must finish a long test to use this feature again.

Relentless Endurance: When you are reduced to 0 Hit Points but not killed outright, you can drop to 1 hit point instead. You can’t use this feature again until you finish a Long Rest.

Savage Attacks: When you score a critical hit with a melee weapon Attack, you can roll one of the weapon’s damage dice one additional time and add it to the extra damage of the critical hit.

Weapon Training: you gain proficiency with the Greataxe, Greatsword, and one additional Martial weapon of your choice.