Orc

Basic Information

Anatomy

Orcs resemble some sort of feral Human but with much more bestial features, most prominently they have oversized, boar-like canines and sharp teeth. Orcs often seem much larger due to their intimidating muscles. Orcs possess small, beady eyes; their facial features are vaguely pig-like; and their hair is wiry like a boar's bristles.

Growth Rate & Stages

From an early age, capable Orc youngsters have a duty to care for any Orcs who require help to survive. Aged or feeble Orcs are permitted to endure only to teach the young valuable skills while indoctrinating them with the appropriate regard for their betters. Drow overseers keep watch over these enclaves, with the aid of Half-Orcs and a few elder Orcs rewarded for loyal service with the right to “retire” to teaching positions.
Within Orc enclaves on Apostae, a specialized program of reward and punishment accompanies education and tempers Orcs for the jobs they are expected to perform. For example, an Orc anticipated to be a Technician might be conditioned to respond well and even take pleasure in technical work, such that her skill seems abnormally good. A bodyguard could be habituated to extreme ferocity in defence of a ward, belied by an otherwise composed demeanour. When an Orc becomes an adult, she moves on to serve the Drow house to which she belongs in her trained capacity. There, her conditioned mind keeps her bound better than any chains ever could.

Ecology and Habitats

Orcs are rare, although records suggest they were numerous on lost Golarion. Today, they can be found in greatest numbers on Apostae, where most are Drow-held slaves.

Additional Information

Social Structure

Over the ages, some Orcs have gained freedom, creating formidable armed clans on Apostae and a few other worlds on the Material Plane, though many free orcs of Apostae remain second-class citizens who still serve the Drow as mercenaries, technicians, and labourers. Even the free orcs on Apostae suffer from isolation and drow propaganda, remaining ignorant of wider possibilities.
The Drow social engineering has taken place for long enough that free Orcs display a similar cultural structure. These Orcs teach their young with analogous and comparably brutal methods of reward and punishment. The young and weak take on jobs that tougher Orcs have the clout and muscle to refuse. Eventually, a young Orc might join the ranks of the strong and earn the right to take on responsibilities that garner more prestige. She then sloughs off tasks she considers to be beneath her onto the shoulders of those she sees as lower than her in status.

Domestication

Drow care little for where these tendencies come from, but their centuries-long influence has changed the Orcs from the brutes described in pre-Gap histories. The Drow have socially engineered their Orc chattel to make them useful servants.

Average Intelligence

On average, Orcs have difficulty with attention, memory, and impulse control. An orc is ideally suited to her prescribed duties thanks to the extensive conditioning she receives. Her confidence in such areas is also high. An orc trained to scout the caves of Apostae, for instance, is likely to be a keen climber and shrewd explorer. She also knows enough about the Ilee (a lost race native to Apostae) to know when she has made an important discovery.

Civilization and Culture

Naming Traditions

Name Generator

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Major Language Groups and Dialects

Orcish, Druw'th.

History

When first encountered in the depths of Golarion, Orcs were little more than ferocious animals. Their earliest fights against the Dwarves taught Orcs the rudiments of civilisation as they had finally encountered a foe that could not be overcome with just fists, teeth, and sheer fury. Eventually, they learned to wield stolen Dwarven weapons and to modify stolen armour to fit their hulking frames. It was not enough. As Orcs rose from their animalistic beginnings, still the Dwarves forced them into retreat during their Quest for Sky. Eventually, they were forced onto the surface of Golarion ahead of the crusading Dwarves in places like ████████. Upon reaching the surface in -5102 AR, the Orcs found a sunless land still engulfed in the Age of Darkness with the remains of shattered empires like ██████ and █████████ scattered across the land.
During the Age of Darkness, the Orcs prospered; to them, this era was known as "The Sacking" as the Orcs rampaged across the surface world all but unopposed. As the perpetual darkness created by Earthfall slowly gave way to more and more daylight, the Age of Anguish began in -4294 AR and Orcs knew the burning kiss of the Sun. This marked the start of a centuries-long decline for the Orcs that was only ceased by the birth and rise of the legendary Orc warlord Belkzen. Determined to drive the Dwarves back below the surface, Belkzen began a violent campaign that resulted in the sacking of in █████████ -3709 AR and culminating in the conquest of the Sky Citadel of ████████ in -3708 AR. Belkzen's conquests give rise to the kingdom that still bears his name, the Hold of Belkzen.

Historical Figures

• Belkzen, a successful Orc warlord

Interspecies Relations and Assumptions

Few people of the Pact Worlds have ever seen an Orc up close, but most people know their reputation as brutal monsters. The social conditions in which most Orcs exist often make it challenging for them to assimilate into other cultures. Orcs are gruff and terse, interacting with others only when necessary. An Orc without a hierarchy to embrace or reject often struggles to find her position in a pecking order that might not exist.

Genetic Descendants

• Half-Orc

Scientific Name

Dryadalis Fortis (strong Elf)

Origin/Ancestry

The underground of Golarion.

Lifespan

60 years

Average Height

182.88cm (6ft)

Average Weight

90.72 (200lbs)

Body Tint, Colouring and Marking

Orc skin tone varies between a sallow pink through various shades of grey to dark green.