Half-Orcs
Half-Orcs are the resultant offspring of relationships (both willing and otherwise) between Orcs and Men. Often shunned from both orcish and mannish society, half-orcs face lives rife with prejudice and discrimination.
When Varanok orcs are coupled with men, the resulting children consistently trend towards the likeness of their father in both weight and stature, regardless of his race; half-orcs with Varanok fathers are typically tall and broad, while those with mannish fathers could often be mistaken for men if not for their modest tusks and red-hued eyes. Sulmathu half-orcs, however, bear the traits of their mother, be her mannish or orcish. Were it not for their heavy brow and verdant complexion, many Sulmathu half-orcs are nigh-indistinguishable from men.
Due to the abundance of differences between the anatomies of orcs and men, their offspring unfortunately tend to suffer from a menagerie of ailments as they age. Compounded with the harsh and oft-violent lives of the half-orc, it is rare for one of their kind to live beyond a half-century (although exceptions do exist). Additionally, it has been observed that while female half-orcs are capable of bearing children, half-orc men are sterile; the result of some quirk of orcish physiology or a curse placed upon them by the orcish God as punishment for sullying the bloodline.Kesuma Teulu: Sulmathu descent, temporarily united the three largest orcish tribes surrounding Aparnovos to fend off a hostile incursion of Southwythian magicians in 26 AU.
Maurhuk / Morholt the Veiled: Varanok descent, assisted in peacefully resolving a dispute between the Ulnosti villages of Diggle and Bladderton in early 428 AU.
Physical Characteristics
Unlike the generally-harmonious balance of traits in their Elven counterparts, the appearance and physique of the half-orcs can vary wildly depending on the sexual makeup of their parents and the ethnicity of their orcish genitor.1 The vast majority of known half-orcs descend from an orcish father and a mannish mother, as most Men do not possess the courage required to successfully court an orcish woman.When Varanok orcs are coupled with men, the resulting children consistently trend towards the likeness of their father in both weight and stature, regardless of his race; half-orcs with Varanok fathers are typically tall and broad, while those with mannish fathers could often be mistaken for men if not for their modest tusks and red-hued eyes. Sulmathu half-orcs, however, bear the traits of their mother, be her mannish or orcish. Were it not for their heavy brow and verdant complexion, many Sulmathu half-orcs are nigh-indistinguishable from men.
Due to the abundance of differences between the anatomies of orcs and men, their offspring unfortunately tend to suffer from a menagerie of ailments as they age. Compounded with the harsh and oft-violent lives of the half-orc, it is rare for one of their kind to live beyond a half-century (although exceptions do exist). Additionally, it has been observed that while female half-orcs are capable of bearing children, half-orc men are sterile; the result of some quirk of orcish physiology or a curse placed upon them by the orcish God as punishment for sullying the bloodline.
Notable Half-Orcs
1Until recently, the study of Orcish couplings with non-Orcs has been largely a matter of conjecture. However, an early fifth-century expedition mounted by University of Acton scholars into the Sulmathu city of Voldrun revealed much knowledge hitherto unknown to mankind. The information presented by the survivors of that expedition to the author forms the bulk of this document.