Orcs
Aurum Sponges; Peaceful in Aurum's light, Violent outside of it
"For an Orc, the darkness isn't just the absence of light, it's a slow decent into madness. It's hardly noticeable at first, a few disturbing stray thoughts in an otherwise sound mind. But as your time in darkness grows, the intesity of those thoughts grows as well. Soon one finds themselves reveling in destruction and chaos. It becomes like a persistent itch that never goes away even when scratched. The only relief comes when the first ray's of Aurum's light touch our skin in the morning. In that moment, it's like a great weight has been lifted off your shoulders, like you're slowly waking up from a bad dream."
Introduction
Within the many levels of Cavum, the Orcs are viewed in many different lights. They are seen as religious zealots by the Dragonborn, and violent marauders by the Drow. To the Aurelies Empire, they were once a species of easily controllable slaves, now freed by the Mark of Cavum. To the Wood Elves, they are wonders of nature to be studied and learned from, becoming more passive when they are bathed in Aurum's light. In many ways, each of these accounts of the Orcs is a valid one. Being one of the most widespread species within Cavum, the lives of Orcs are complicated and diverse. Their lives is heavily dependent on the location in which they currently reside, as these locations often dictate their personality.
Born from Nature
Legend says that Orcs were first created by the Ancient Elves as protectors of their sacred lands. Carved out of wood, and given breath through the power of Aurum, the Orcs of old were created to possess both a great strength and a deep connection to the natural world. Using these traits, they protected the balance of nature and all the creatures residing within in it. Some of the most ancient and valuable druidic texts where created by Ancient Orcs, as they studied and learned about Cavum alongside the Ancient Elves.
Like a plant, Orcs were given life and energy through photosynthesis. By basking in Aurum's light, Orcs could recover energy and strength. Orcs who didn't receive light from Aurum would slowly revert back to their original form: a statue carved from wood. This transformation did not kill the Orc, as their soul was still bound to the statue. Furthermore, If the statue of the Orc was reintroduced to Aurum's light, the Orc would come back to life and regain all of his memories. This state was sometimes used by Ancient Orcs as a form of meditation or hibernation. It also rendered Orcs as effectively immortal, as as long as their statues/bodies were not destroyed, they were immune to dying of old age. However, This feature of their biology, arguably their greatest strength, turned into their greatest weakness during the Great Disappearance.
Corrupted By Erebus
Like most of the species caught within the Great Disappearance, the Orcs were greatly affected by the Chaos of Erebus. Driven to madness by the chaos, much like the Drow the Ancient Orcs retreated to the darkest reaches of Cavum. As they turned to statues in the darkness, the Orcs were slowly corrupted by the chaos of Erebus, and their instincts to protect and nurture the natural world were twisted into a hunger to destroy it. This event forever changed the biology of the Orc species, taking away their ability to turn into statues and making them increasingly more violent the longer they spent away from Aurum's light.
Peaceful In Aurum's Light, Violent Outside of It
Because of the chaos of Erebus, Orcs now live very complicated lives. In many of Cavum's darkest reaches, Orcs are mindless destroyers, preying on whatever or whomever is unlucky enough to cross their path. In other areas of Cavum which receive more of Aurum's light, many Orcs have the mental capacity for complex reasoning, however they are still keen on spreading chaos and destruction. These factions of Orcs often worship Warukerien, the minor god of War and Conquest. In areas of Cavum that receive lots of Aurum's light, most Orcs are a peaceful species, only driven to violence when forced by others. Due to the many vastly different conditions many Orcs find themselves experiencing, many different cultures view Orcs in many different ways. Some see them as mindless beasts, others as friendly farmers. However, most cultures and peoples tend to view Orcs with suspicion, regardless of their past experiences. After all, on a long night, there is no telling if an Orc may turn suddenly violent. It is, unfortunately, in their nature.
Playing an Orc
When playing an Orc there is a lot to consider. First and foremost, is your Orc generally peaceful or violent? Whilst some of this isn't necessarily controllable due to an Orc's nature, individual Orcs do have certain practices to make themselves more or less violent. For example, followers of Warukerien often wear protective armor and veils to protect them from Aurum's rays, which they believe will corrupt them from their god given calling. On the opposite hand, many Orcs who wish to not give into their chaotic tendencies will seek to expose themselves to Aurum as much as possible, either by wearing clothing which reveals more skin, or by spending more time outside in Aurum's rays. Keep in mind that depending on how you want to play your Orc character, their behaviors and lifestyle should generally make sense with how they act. An Orc who hides in a cave all day will not be a very nice and reasonable individual. Also take into account where your Orc was born, and in what environment they were raised. The past environmental experiences of an Orc will greatly influence how susceptible they are to the chaos of Erebus. Some other things to consider are how your Orc reacts to how others view them, their opinions of other Orcs, and how your Orc may react when they are deprived of Aurum's light, or on the flipside, introduced to it.
Orc Statblock
Orc
Darkvision
You have Darkvision with a range of 60 feet.
Powerful Build
You count as one size larger when determining your carrying capacity and the weight you can push, drag, or lift.
Relentless Endurance
When you are reduced to 0 hit points but not killed outright, you can drop to 1 hit point instead. Once you use this trait, you can’t do so again until you finish a long rest.
Adrenaline Rush
You can take the Dash action as a bonus action. You can use this trait a number of times equal to your proficiency bonus, and you regain all expended uses when you finish a long rest.
Savage Attacks
When you score a critical hit with a melee weapon attack, you can roll one of the weapon’s damage dice one additional time and add it to the extra damage of the critical hit.
Quick Reference Guide:
Quick Build Guide:
Variant: Half-Orc
Whilst it may seem unlikely that any other species would be able to cross breed with an Orc due to their unique biology, Humans overcame this hurdle (as they often do). When Orcs were being used as Slave Labor by the Aurelies Empire, crossbreeding began between Orcs and Humans. The result of this cross breeding was Half-Orcs, Orcs who had less pronounced Orcish features and were largely unaffected by the Chaos of Erebus. Half-Orcs were an incredibly important factor in the emancipation of the Orcs from slavery. In the modern day the number of Half-Orcs only continues to increase, as more and more crossbreeding between Humans, Orcs, and Half-Orcs occurs. Many Orcs see Half-Orcs as the solution to the Chaos of Erebus that plages them, and will oftentimes go out of their way to mate with a Half-Orc or a Human so that they may have a Half-Orc child. However, other Orcs, especially those more controlled by Erebus, see Half-Orcs as abominable, and harbor a great hatred towards them.
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