What's the draw of half-orcs?

[op1983]

I read a book about orcs not too long ago. It gave a neat perspective on orcs from the orcs point of view. So, for me playing the half-orcs is a way to explore playing what is generally seen as big bad mean dudes and show they are, but not without a good reason.

 

[cignus_pfaccari]

In Shadowrun, the playable races were Human, Dwarf, Elf (tall ones), Orc and Troll. Trolls were a lot more popular than Orcs - why? Bigger. People like to play big things. All of the Orc characters I saw created were actually sophisticated since it was a bit easier to envision the gentleman savage as an Orc. But if you wanted big and strong, you went biggest and strongest.

Shadowrun Orks actually have a good racial package, with bonuses to Body and Strength, and they didn't have a penalty to Willpower, which was important to keep up your Combat Pool pre-4e. Mechanically they were pretty cheap, and their short lifespan wasn't going to come up in-game.

Brad

 

[Mark]

Half-orcs are simpler.

One less feat to choose. Darkvision means you don't even have to worry about a light source. (. . .)

I always thought that darkvision was a more than adequate tradeoff for a feat.

 

[Particle_Man]

I always thought that darkvision was a more than adequate tradeoff for a feat.

And +2 STR is like Weapon Focus + 1/2 Weapon Specialization for all meelee weapons, too.

Of course, you can go for the Dwarf, which has Darkvision and a lot of other abilities, but the Half-Orc has darvision and simplicity. They see in the dark. They are strong. Go.

 

[Stoat]

I usually DM, but when I play, I like to play big, strong, dumb characters that speak bluntly in social situations and use violence to solve their problems. So I tend to play Half-orcs and Dwarves.

 

[InVinoVeritas]

In Shadowrun, the playable races were Human, Dwarf, Elf (tall ones), Orc and Troll. Trolls were a lot more popular than Orcs - why? Bigger. People like to play big things. All of the Orc characters I saw created were actually sophisticated since it was a bit easier to envision the gentleman savage as an Orc. But if you wanted big and strong, you went biggest and strongest.

I've played two Shadowrun orks, and greatly enjoyed both.

"Jack," aka "Samurai Jack" long before the famous cartoon character, was a heavily cybered ork street samurai who was careful and meditative--usually. He wasn't a hulked-out monster, but a disciplined, diligent killing machine. He had a tendency to always speak koans about every situation. And when he got into the zone, the body counts were high, and he wouldn't flinch. Oddly, he was usually the calmest voice of reason of the party, but let's face it, no one listens to the street sam with the funny accent.

My second character was Orson Pitts, M.D. He worked for DocWagon until he took up the shadows, but then ran a third-rate no-questions-asked similar service called PittsWagon. He was also a Bear Shaman. He often compained about how an ork had to give up half his life just to receive a medical degree. He also had plenty of gory ER stories and jokes for every occasion.

In both cases, the ork worked great--more gruff than the typical character, but still fitting in the seat just fine without all the troll issues.

 

[Nivenus]

It was definitely being the outsider, break-the-archetype thing for me. Same goes for tieflings. I like all the wierd little outcast races. Don't ask me why. I'm not quite sure myself. But it seems more imaginative than, say, playing an elf or dwarf or a human - all three of which have been done to death.

 

[Gunton The Terrible]

When I think Barbarian in DnD I think half-orc. I have played many type of characters over the years, but sometimes you want to play something more wild. My latest PC is liked a leashed animal. Letting loose in battle seems the only way to be accepted by the "pretty" PCs. Besides, charging head long into battle with out a care of your own skin is fun.

 

[Aeolius]

What’s the lure? For me, it is the nature of crossbreeds and hybrids. D&D has it’s examples of old; from the half-orc, half-elf, half-ogre, ogrillon, alu-demon/cambion, and more. “Ecology of the Greenhag” from DRAGON #125 comes to mind, where greenhags are described as the daughters of night hags and the annis is the daughter of a greenhag.

Along comes 3e with half-fiends, half-celestials, half-elementals, half-dragons, half-fey, half-trolls, and more. Reality is filled with unusual crossbreeds; camas (camel/llama), zorses (zebra/horse), ligers/tigons, and wolphins (bottlenose dolphin/false killer whale) to name a few. Why should a fantasy realm be any different?