Your take on charismatic half-orcs
- Thread starter BVB
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Dark Jezter
First Post
For further evidence that charisma has little to do with looks, just look at all the supermodels, actors/actresses, and pop stars out there who are physically attractive, but have the personality of a brick. 
I'm A Banana
Potassium-Rich
Well, in general playing a character who's an exception to some of the rules of society, many players fall into the trap of 'He's an exception to ALL THE RULES!,' or make the character quite one-dimensional in only defining that one charactaristic.
Not that that's inherently a bad thing, I just tend to discourage it personally.
Like, when 3e first came out, there were stories of half-orc bards and dwarven wizards and gnomish paladins...things that people did mostly because the rules didn't say you couldn't anymore. While probably fun to play, your character should be deeper than "He Doesn't Fit the Stereotype," IMHO.
It's fine to have a character that doesn't fit the stereotype. But an orc straight outta the Monster Manual can do that. If here's no other reason to make him charismatic than the fact that most aren't, he's not that compelling on anything more than a novelty level.
Of course, there are places for charsimatic orcs...I guess the thing to realize is that just because you're playing a "one in a million" PC, don't expect people to think you're special for doing it. A charismatic orc might get a double-glance from some people, but most of the time it'd be no different than having a charismatic elf who happened to be beefy and dumb.
I'm probably babbling. Basically, as long as the guy is more than "Orc with charisma!", it'll be fine. The danger is if he's nothing else.
Not that that's inherently a bad thing, I just tend to discourage it personally.
Like, when 3e first came out, there were stories of half-orc bards and dwarven wizards and gnomish paladins...things that people did mostly because the rules didn't say you couldn't anymore. While probably fun to play, your character should be deeper than "He Doesn't Fit the Stereotype," IMHO.
It's fine to have a character that doesn't fit the stereotype. But an orc straight outta the Monster Manual can do that. If here's no other reason to make him charismatic than the fact that most aren't, he's not that compelling on anything more than a novelty level.
Of course, there are places for charsimatic orcs...I guess the thing to realize is that just because you're playing a "one in a million" PC, don't expect people to think you're special for doing it. A charismatic orc might get a double-glance from some people, but most of the time it'd be no different than having a charismatic elf who happened to be beefy and dumb.
I'm probably babbling.
Basically, as long as the guy is more than "Orc with charisma!", it'll be fine. The danger is if he's nothing else. 
Mark
CreativeMountainGames.com
It's not an Orc, it's a Half-Orc. The DM might have some social situations where it is less offensive to the general public to be a full-blooded Orc than a Half-Orc. A player should check with their DM and see if any special roleplaying rules apply in his campaign before making assumptions along those lines.
Mark said:
That sort of implies that charisma might be tied to societal expectations? I think it usually does -- we live with standards of beauty and 'appropriate' mannerisms in our real world already. ... But within the game, an 16 attribute is a 16 attribute regardless of culture or race. One would think that a gnome would be more attracted to another gnome, for example, and yet the rule book doesn't qualify that a 16 charisma for a gnome is less valuable in a half-orc or elf village.
The game makes a lot of silly assumptions and simplifications, realy. Makes for lots of interesting online discussions and arguments.
ArielManx
First Post
If the player of the charming half-orc is uncomfortable with what's going on with the other players, there needs to be a talk away from the table. While there's obviously bound to be racism in the game - and early on that might have been understandable if the other characters had had nothing but bad experiences with orcs - a group that's been together through at least 8th level should have come to know their companions well enough that they would get past their prejudices.
It sort of sounds like the players might think they're being funny, but if the half-orc's player is getting upset then it's not a joke anymore. From what you've said he's playing the character well and I don't think he needs to change anything. It's the other players who have some issues to deal with.
FWIW, one of the most memorable NPCs IMC was a full orc paladin of Tyr (he'd been raised among humans). Clean, well-dressed, could charm the pants off a snake...and one big orcish powerhouse in battle. The party loved him and still mourns his death over a year later.
Ariel
It sort of sounds like the players might think they're being funny, but if the half-orc's player is getting upset then it's not a joke anymore. From what you've said he's playing the character well and I don't think he needs to change anything. It's the other players who have some issues to deal with.
FWIW, one of the most memorable NPCs IMC was a full orc paladin of Tyr (he'd been raised among humans). Clean, well-dressed, could charm the pants off a snake...and one big orcish powerhouse in battle. The party loved him and still mourns his death over a year later.
Ariel
Five easy ways to have a high-cha half-orc:
5. He's a proud warrior, and though uncouth and uncivilized, his raw personality can make women swoon and men step back (a la Conan, uses Intimidate).
4. He's ugly as sin, but he's got a ready smile and he likes to make light of his heritage with jokes about himself, winning people over, though they never think about the fact that if he's smart enough to joke about how not smart he is, he might be smarter than he lets on... (uses Bluff)
3. Where most half-orcs come out looking rather hideous, in his case, some combination of genetics and luck gave him an almost leonine face. He doesn't look human, but he looks proud and beautiful in his own way, and his noble bearing sets him apart. (uses Diplomacy)
2. He's rude, inconsiderate, but stubborn as all get-out, and he's certain that if he tries hard enough, he can make the world bend to his will. (Iron Will, Use Magic Device)
1. He's quiet, where most half-orcs are loud. Instead of roaring his prowess, he sits quietly, where the sheer differentness of him draws curiosity and interest. When he takes out his lyre and begins strumming, most people think it funny at first. But when they hear the sadness in his music, the sheer loneliness of a creature who doesn't fit in with the rest of his world, nobody can help but be touched. (Perform).
5. He's a proud warrior, and though uncouth and uncivilized, his raw personality can make women swoon and men step back (a la Conan, uses Intimidate).
4. He's ugly as sin, but he's got a ready smile and he likes to make light of his heritage with jokes about himself, winning people over, though they never think about the fact that if he's smart enough to joke about how not smart he is, he might be smarter than he lets on... (uses Bluff)
3. Where most half-orcs come out looking rather hideous, in his case, some combination of genetics and luck gave him an almost leonine face. He doesn't look human, but he looks proud and beautiful in his own way, and his noble bearing sets him apart. (uses Diplomacy)
2. He's rude, inconsiderate, but stubborn as all get-out, and he's certain that if he tries hard enough, he can make the world bend to his will. (Iron Will, Use Magic Device)
1. He's quiet, where most half-orcs are loud. Instead of roaring his prowess, he sits quietly, where the sheer differentness of him draws curiosity and interest. When he takes out his lyre and begins strumming, most people think it funny at first. But when they hear the sadness in his music, the sheer loneliness of a creature who doesn't fit in with the rest of his world, nobody can help but be touched. (Perform).
Sejs
First Post
Flip side of the same coin, look at some of the bevvy of actors that are ugly as sin but have the presence of a onrushing train. Jack Nicholson, Willam Dafoe, Steve Buschemi, Hugo Weaving, Laurence Fishburn. Not a single one of them would win a beauity contest, but when they turn on the personality you -feel- it.
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