Orc's

The Orc's of the South eastern lands are hunters by trade. They are fiercely honorable and enjoy the thrill of a hard fight more then the hunt itself. Though not as efficient as the Beastkin, Orc's are often hired to bring down some of the more terrible some and larger beast of the land. When it comes to hunting in the forest and woodlands, Orc's are the go to hunters. The Orc tribes claim the forest of Kookar as their homeland and hold very strong shamanistic beliefs. As such most Orcs tend to fall into two casts, warrior or shaman. Guided by their ancestors and their elders, Orcs hold deep attachment to the earth and familial ties, and will stand by their beliefs even in the most dire of fights.

Basic Information

Anatomy

Orcs are one of the most physically intimidating races in all of Cestria, simply for the fact that they have next to zero extra body fat viable on their body. It is said that if one where to find a "Fat" Orc, they would have found a legendary creature and would be renown in the world. This rumor came to be as Orc's, both male and female, tend to have more mussel mass and a larger bone structure than an average humanoid creature. Even the most lean of Orcs has well define muscles that would be the envy of any body builder.
The Greenish skin tone of Orcs helps them blend into the forests and bushes of the land which aids them in hunting wild animals and other dangerous beasts and creatures. One strange physical characteristic of Orc skin is that, for some, their skin tone changes to a light grayish hue during the winter months when snowfall is prominent. This could have been an evolutionary trait to help aid Orcs when hunting in the winter months.
Orcs have a very strong jaw bone that holds 34 teeth with in the skull. Two of those teeth, often called "tusks", are much large and protrude from the lower jaw and out between the lips. These tusks help the orcs eat the tougher meet of creatures found within the Kookar forest.

Biological Traits

Green skin throughout the majority of the year, Gray skin during the winter mouths.
Large bone structure and a very High muscle mass index.
Live upwards to 65 years on average.
Large jaw bones with 32 teeth and 2 large tusks protruding from the lower teeth line. There is a sub species of Goblin is also classified as apart of the Orc race. These Goblins are less aggressive, and more intelligent that their normal Goblin kind and have evolved to live along side the Orcs. Their skin tone is similar to that of the Orcs, being green tone in coloration. However unlike the Orcs skin which changes during the winter, the Goblins skin remain green all year long. They are also much smaller in size than orcs standing no taller than a typical Gnome.

Genetics and Reproduction

Orcs are a more traditional humanoid race when it comes to reproduction. They find a mate, and have their children like any other in a nine month gestation period. However, the genome of the Orc's is a dominant one and any child born of a mix bloodline will hold more characteristics of the Orc race than that of their second parent. In fact, it takes several generations of inter racial conception to make the Orcish traits disappear from the child.

Growth Rate & Stages

Orcs grow at a slightly accelerated rate compared to most humanoid creatures. This can lead to Orcs having a shorter life span than other races, however there are several out layers that have lived beyond the average life span of a typical Orc. On average though, most orcs reach their full grown height at around the age of 12 to 14 years of age. Mentally they mature at around the age of 18 years of age and are considered true adults at that age as well. Orcs are considered "in their prime" between the ages of 20 and 42, this is where most orcs find themself working jobs and or joining hunts. between the ages of 46 and 53, orcs are considered old enough to retire from most jobs and other forms of physical work, where they can spend the remaining years tying up loose ends or simply enjoying life. on average most Orcs live to be about 60 or so years of age. Orcs that live beyond the age of 65 are considered elders and are often given high roles within Tribes, Shaman circles, or even government positions.

Ecology and Habitats

Orcs predominantly prefer to live within forests or other nature filled areas over the confines of a city or town. Often many "orc city's" are mainly a bunch of wide spread tents that populate a large open region rather than a typical grid like system found in most other Humanoid towns and villages.

Dietary Needs and Habits

Orcs are predominantly meat eaters, but also eat a fair share amount of vegetables and herbs. Over half their teeth are designed to rip apart meat while the other half helps to grind down non meat products. As such, most Orc meals consist of a vast amount of meat, with other foods on the side to help provide the other nutrients needed to live.

Biological Cycle

The Green skin of orcs varies depending on the location for which the orc predominantly lives. For example, Orcs living in heavily forested areas will have more deep green skin to match with the wilderness of the land, where orcs of the planes would have a lighter more pale green coloration for their skin. During the winter months, many orcs skin tones begin to shift and become gray which aids them to some degree when hiding in snow covered landscapes. When spring comes around, and the snow begins to melt, their skin tone returns to their original green tone.

Behaviour

Orcs are very spiritual and calm on most days, however they have been known to outbursts of anger and emotion as well. This is do to the over develop survival instinct of the Orc race as a whole, as for most of their pre civilization life they lived as hunter gatherers in very dangerous lands. But it is because of this aggression that Orcs have been known to be great warriors and fierce foes. However, at the end of the day, Orcs will always seek out an inner peace and calm as was taught by their ancestors of old.

Additional Information

Social Structure

Orcs have a gerontocracy, where the eldest of the Orcs are the leaders. To the Orcs the older one is, the more authority and importance they hold with in the Orc social structure. This is because Orcs place a high value on those who came before them, and that knowledge should be passed down from generation to generation. As such, once an Orc reaches their elder years of life they often find themselves as chieftains, head shamans, or ambassadors.
Now this does not mean that the youth of the Orc culture does not have any value in opinions, rather it means that the youth are often overlooked because they lack experience in such matters. Orcs retain their knowledge quite well and as such share their experiences with others first. Should a younger Orc have knowledge or experience in something an older Orc leader does not have, then that knowledge is often taken into concentration.
Yet further deviation can happen should an Elder Orc find that a younger, more keen or influential Orc might serve as a better leader then the Orc who is meant to replace them, they might make them the next in line. The final word of the Elder's is the ultimately the final decision that Orcs will abide by.

Facial characteristics

Most male Orcs have very striking, strong jaw lines that give their face an overall squarish shape to them. To others, it often makes their head seem like is more muscle than brain, but their faces are well define and can leave a memorable impression upon those who see it.
Female Orcs on the other hand have a slightly different bone structure then that of male orcs. Female Orcs, while still showing a strong jaw line, have smoother more rounded faces and a softer feminine appeal to them that most male's of any race can find rather attractive. Their tusks in comparison to male orcs are also much smaller than their male counterparts, but are still very prominent on their facial structure.

Geographic Origin and Distribution

Orcs preferable want to live with in forests and other wooded areas as this is where their ancestors lived predominantly. However, Orcs live throughout the land of Cestria and can adapt to live in just about local. Still, all Orcs feel "at home" when in a forest.

Average Intelligence

Orcs are generally quite intelligent despite their appearance as muscle bound brutes. While not quite to the level of intellect that a Gnome would have, many of the Shamans and other spell casting capable orcs show an aptitude for intellectual fields of study such as the Schools of Arcane magic in the city of Prezell. They have a knowledge of the land that not many races truly understand, and they are more than willing to teach others how to track and hunt. One other key note about an Orcs intelligence is that Orcs do not seem to suffer from memory loss or even other degenerative mental illnesses that many other races suffer from in their old age. This is why elder Orcs are seen as the wisest and most intelligent of all the orcs in a tribe and are highly respected.

Perception and Sensory Capabilities

The keen eye sight of Orcs allows them a bit of dark vision. This was also an evolutionary trait gained to aid Orcs in hunting at night. They also have a deep connection with the world around them, thus allowing them to have a keen intuition into the more primal elements of the world. It is also said that some Orcs even have a sixth-sense and are able to detect strong spirits that have yet to find rest in the afterlife.

Scientific Name

Homo Orcas

Lifespan

60 to 67 years

Average Height

6-7 feet for males 5-6 feet for females

Average Weight

225 and 285 pounds for males 215 to 225 pounds for females.

Average Physique

Both male and female Orcs have the physique of professional body builders, no matter how strong or week they may be. Very little of their body's hold large amounts of fat cells and their natural muscle mass is more prominent and define than that of a normal humanoid creature. While not every Orc will have the same definition of muscle groups as other orcs, even the most unfit and out of shape Orc will have a define shaping of muscles groups such as pecks, abs and biceps.

Body Tint, Colouring and Marking

The Green tone skin of Orcs varies slightly between the different locations for which Orcs live in. The Orcs of the Kookar Forest, for example, have a far deeper forest green then that of the lighter green skin of Orcs living in the central planes of Cestria. Orcs that live in the Myvillion Tundra skin tone is a more greenish gray do to the cold temperatures and the more prominent snow fall that last nearly year round.