Orcs

Basic Information

Anatomy

Orcs have a typical human body plan- two arms, two legs, etc. They are often bulkier and larger than other humanoids, and have a high predisposition towards the building of muscle mass. Orcs have skin colors in shades of greens, greys, and browns, and often squared skulls and heavyset bones.

Biological Traits

Due to their supernaturally tough draconic blood, as well as a cultural heritage of fighting and military organization, orcs are incredibly tough and proficient fighters. Incredibly enduring, orcs can keep fighting when other humanoids would succumb to their wounds due to a combination of automatic slowing of their metabolic rate and blood flow as well as sheer ferocity and training. Orc skin scars easily, and orcs are often adorned in heavy scar tissue that heralds old fights. Their natural strength and endurance make orcs relentless fighters and especially adept at navigating the dangerous and warring areas of Xiujia.

Growth Rate & Stages

Orcs grow faster than most other humanoid races, at about a comparable speed physically to humans (although their cultural norms often lead to earlier social maturation). Older orcs often develop thick layers of scar tissue and their tusks grow continuously, such that they look especially brutish the older they are.

Additional Information

Facial characteristics

Orcs have squared jaws, greenish/grey skin, and tusks of various shapes. These tusks are usually developed from canines- top and bottom- but occasionally premolars and incisors can overgrow in strange structures and shapes. They have slightly pointed ears and heavy brows, and their faces are very expressive.

Geographic Origin and Distribution

Orcs are native to Eastern Xiujia, although now can be found across Korthos- especially western Aborea and northwestern Beshabha. They prefer to live in rural and unsettled locales, however, so they are rare in more urban locations.

Perception and Sensory Capabilities

The high functioning eyes of orcs give them the ability to see in the dark, refracting light as well as giving them a magical aptitude to seeing in even pitch blackness. However, this acute dark vision comes at the expense of their day-vision, so orcs often have dazzled or blurry vision when in areas of bright bright light.

Civilization and Culture

Beauty Ideals

Most orcs espouse the cultural ideal of strength. Beauty ideals come secondarily- a "beautiful" orc in most of eastern Xiujia is one who is strong and tough, able to withstand punishment from enemies and able to march and travel for long periods of time. This isn't driven by an ideal of creating strong children, however- it is more of a connection to personal strength and perseverance; orcs wish to find partners who they can take care of and who can take care of them, in a mutual strength exchange.

Gender Ideals

Gender and sexuality are flexible and fluid in most Orcish cultures. Attributes such as strength or power aren't linked to sex or to gender, nor are sexualities, and orcs strive so much for freedom as a race that they don't often find the restrictions on sex or gender in some other cultures to be polite.

Average Technological Level

Orcs don't commit much time to research or development of weaponry- in war or subsistence they mostly rely on their natural strength and endurance to brute force their way through problems. Driving brute force behind relatively primitively weaponry, orcs are generally able to overcome most physical obstacles. Orcish magic is often either shamanistic or witchery based, although the occasional orc with particularly strong draconic heritage makes a strong sorcerer or draconic disciple.

Major Language Groups and Dialects

The Orc language- Orc or Orcish- is a derivation of simplified Draconic, and they are often mutually intelligible to native speakers. Many Orcs also speak simplified Draconic, as well, and occasionally Common.

Origin/Ancestry

Draconic

Lifespan

Similar to humans, around 60-80 years.

Average Height

Orcs tend towards taller heights than humans- usually well over 6 feet.

Average Weight

Heavy boned and muscle bound, orcs usually weigh in excess of 200 lbs.

Average Physique

Even the least muscular orc is heavier and more muscular than the average human- whether muscular and toned or bearing a heavier set (and more sensible) physique.

Body Tint, Colouring and Marking

Orcish skin is generally green, grey, or brown. It ranges from olive green to slate to rust color and everything in between, often taking on a gradient of varying color distinctions from head to toe. Some orcs with especially strong draconic heritage have faint scales near their eyes, noses, and mouths.