Half-Orc

In northern Avistan, half-orcs tell the story of how the goddess Pharasma, exasperated by all the souls that came to her from every clash of orc and human, directed that a portion be returned as the children of the two species, to spare her the trouble of sorting them. Farther south, half-orcs claim that the Lord of Iron, Gorum, was a half-orc, and allowed humans and orcs to mix so that he could be born. Regardless, half-orcs are born from humans, orcs, and half-orcs, with many half-orcs the children of two half-orc parents. They stand 6 or 7 feet tall, broad-shouldered and heavily muscled, with greenish-gray skin, dark hair, and tusk-like canine teeth. Half-orcs often find commonality in their shared struggles. Humans and orcs have rarely gotten along, and so most half-orcs endure prejudice, racism, and sometimes outright slavery among human societies—though after the orcs of Belkzen rose up against the recently revived Whispering Tyrant, this conflict has somewhat lessened. This prejudice has resulted in a growing culture that prizes self-sufficiency and competition, as well as argument and debate—after all, words are one of the hardest things to take away. Some half-orcs are fortunate enough to live in societies that prize them; in the martial Shoanti and Ulfen cultures, for example, skin color is less important than the ability to heft an axe.

Genetic Ancestor(s)

• Human
• Orc

Related Ethnicities

• Cragkin
• Frostkin
• Gloomkin
• Rainkin
• Sandkin