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Message: <blockquote data-quote="delericho" data-source="post: 9578270" data-attributes="member: 22424">I don't use all-evil orcs (or, actually, alignment at all). But I'll take a crack at it...Human societies have long grappled with how to deal with those who commit crimes. In the borderlands, most societies have hit upon exile as their punishment of choice. Of course, a fair number of those exiled have committed only minor crimes, are victims of circumstance, or are otherwise far from evil. There are some, however, driven out for murder or other heinous crimes.Meanwhile, there are dark places in the world where the influence of Gruumsh bleeds through and can cause mutation in those sufficiently open to his influence - specifically that final group of human exiles. When those exiles find themselves in the Gruumsh-touched caves, they find themselves mutated - first to become half-orcs, then fully orcish. Those who are particularly evil can become mutated further, losing an eye and becoming the true Chosen of Gruumsh.Children of orcs are human, and remain so as long as they are innocent (or if removed from the Gruumsh-touched caves early enough). Unfortunately, the cycle of abuse tends to repeat, and so those children almost invariably eventually fall or are slain. Some few, of course, do escape.Philosophers and moralists note that orcs are not evil because they are orcish; rather, they are orcish because they are evil. They further note that, in theory at least, an orc who renounced evil could purge themselves of the influence of Gruumsh. But this could only be done within the Gruumsh-touched realm, where they would be surrounded on all sides by a community hostile to their intent.Those soldiers defending the borderlands note that any philosopher wishing to test this is welcome to join them on the wall.</blockquote>

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