Orc

Basic Information

Anatomy

Orc anatomy is similar to that of other sentient races: an Orc has relatively thick bones to support their 7 feet height and posses excessively large muscle groups. . Given the grey skin of subterranean Orcs, scholars assume the green skin is an evolutionary development to act as camouflage.

Biological Traits

Except for their skin, orcs are most recognizable by their short, pointed ears and the lower boar-like tusks, which they sometimes use in combat. Orcs are known for being extremely ferocious: able to keep on fighting after receiving fatal wounds before succumbing to them.

Genetics and Reproduction

With love seeming to be an almost alien concept among males, orcs do not form lasting relationships. Males rather see females, and their offspring, as 'property' . Males thus create harems of females, the size of which is directly linked to their position within a tribe. Males do not partake in care for their own children, though they might occasionally teach their sons to fight. Children are instead raised by their mothers and learned how to survive within a tribe by assisting them in their day-to-day tasks.

Growth Rate & Stages

Orcs develop fast and are short lived, those that don't die violently very rarely even make it to 60. Orcs make up for their short lifespans and the high attrition of their violent societies by reproducing at an astonishing rate. Their fecundity is so great that a tribe decimated in battle can almost totally replenish its numbers in as little as a decade.

Reaching adulthood is no small feat for orcish children. After leaving infancy they almost immediately have to fend for themselves against older members of the tribe. Already in childhood do most males, encouraged by their fathers, start intimidating children of the same age or younger than them. When reaching adulthood, male children are initiated by leading the charge in a raid, in which the survivors of the vanguard are considered adults. Females don't receive an official rite, though they are deemed adults once they develop their secondary sex characteristics, at which point they are forced into a harem.

Dietary Needs and Habits

Orcs are omnivores but seem to prefer a mostly carniverous life. Orcs have been known to indulge in cannibalism; eating the flesh of other sentient species, even other orcs! Their digestive track, which is relatively short due to an Orc's carnivorously oriented diet

Behaviour

Orcs seems to experience emotions more intensely than other humanoids, however, they only seem to express rage, jealousy, lust, and other negative emotions, though this may be a result of their violent culture. Orcs also have an incredibly high pain threshold, though this is not physiological, orcs experience pain as vividly as any other sentient race but possess a near unparalleled stoicism. Orcs fatalistically embrace pain allowing them to survive agony that would break or even kill another creature, some even claim that orc eyes have never adapted to the burning light of the sun, they have just learned to endure it.

Additional Information

Social Structure

Orcs group together in tribal communities for food, protection and numbers. These communities are ruled by a single individual, a chieftain which is often a warlord or shaman. A chieftain wields the highest power within a community, and dictates the laws of a tribe. In larger tribes, where the community is split into a main camp and several peripheral camps, the chieftain may anoint paramount chiefs to rule in his name. These chiefs collect and pay tribute to the chieftain in the form of food or plunder.

The sudden death of a chieftain (which is not at the hands of a challenger) and subsequent lack of an immediate successor allmost inevitably throws a tribe into chaos and infighting, until a new leader arises and establishes dominance. The chiefdoms themselves are also relatively unstable forms of organization. Orc tribes are prone to periods of collapse and renewal, where tribes band together but eventually fragment through some form of social stress, after which they slowly band back together.

In some unique cases female orcs have been observed to rise to the position of chieftain. These females are more vicious and intimidating than their male counterpart, and they rule their tribe with an iron fist. Not surprisingly, they alleviate the females within a tribe of some of their tasks. A female chieftain also brings a considerable change in the looting behaviour: tribes become more systematic and selective in the towns they attack, maximizing their returns and minimizing their losses.

Facial characteristics

Orc facial features are vaguely pig-like; and their hair is wiry like a boar's bristles.

Average Intelligence

Orcs do not seem to be as learned as other species, though some will possess deadly cunning. They speak Trade/Imperial with difficulty, often characterised with broken grammer. Once they were little more than beasts, prioritizing savagery, strength, and brutality as a way of life.

Perception and Sensory Capabilities

Orcs have the ability to see in very dim or dark conditions. Their eyesight, however, makes them very senstive to bright sunlight. The orc's other senses operate within the normal range as other sentient species.

Civilization and Culture

Naming Traditions

Female: Barru, Figgor, Ghush, Gognesh, Kret, Usgi, Vogmus, Urjudja

Male: Basolk, Crold, Droog, Forg,Grek, Krakdurg, Nargosh, Rizkut, Urgosh, Vorlekk Orcs do not possess surnames, rather identify their orgin from the tribe they are born into. "...of The Burning Eye," etc.

Gender Ideals

Males are, unsurprisingly, the dominant gender within a tribe. If they are not out raiding, or occasionally patrolling a camps perimeter, they spend their time indulging themselves with food, torture [of slaves] and fighting rivals. Male orcs rarely take up professions as they disgust at even the thought of having to go through the effort to create something themselves, instead of taking it. However, in some cases a male might take up the craft of armour- or weaponsmith and become a valuable and protected asset of chieftains.

Females fulfil the role of the lesser gender within orc society, which is most likely attributed to having a much calmer and collected nature, compared to their male counterpart (this does not mean a disgruntled female orc wouldn't tear off an arm). Males delegate much of the day-to-day tasks to the females within a tribe. These activities include, but might not be limited to: cooking, cleaning, nursing and herding. Females also seem to be more likely to take up a profession, like leatherworking or seaming to create or repair both tents and clothing.

Average Technological Level

Orcs never seemed to possess the ability to create or build complex tools or structures. They are nowhere near as industrialized as other species. Their earliest fights against the Dwarves taught to wield stolen dwarven weapons and to modify stolen armour to fit their hulking frames. Otherwise they build crude weapons such as spears and axes. They do not grow their own food, instead raiding and stealing what they need from other orc tribes and settlements of other species.

Major Language Groups and Dialects

The orcs have developed their own language, simply called orcish. They have no written language, instead relying on crudely drawn images and symbols to communicate non-verbally.

Culture and Cultural Heritage

Orcs usually live amid squalor and constant mayhem, and intimidation and brutal violence are the glue that holds orc culture together. They settle disputes by making increasingly grisly threats until, when a rival fails to back down, the conflict escalates into actual bloodshed. Orcs who win these ferocious brawls not only feel free to take whatever they want from the loser, but also frequently indulge in humiliating physical violation, casual mutilation, and even outright murder. Orcs rarely spend much time improving their homes or belongings since doing so merely encourages a stronger orc to seize them. In fact, whenever possible, they prefer to occupy buildings and communities originally built by other races.

Whilst, at best, only average riders, orcs value having fearsome mounts for the prestige they bring. The most common mounts include dire wolves, dire boars,elephants, and rhinoceroses

Common Customs, Traditions and Rituals

Orcs are merely interested in satisfying their own needs, which in itself is a reason why an orc would not worship a god. But they also dislike having a master, and they perceive the worship of a deity as subjugating themselves to it. Despite this, shamans frequently rise to power and enforce the worship of a god to exert control over the tribe.

The gods that shamans devote a tribe to directly influence the amount of control they have. Thus, they typically choose gods which portfolio suits an orc the best. Typically, this is either Asmodeus or Demogorgon. But tribes worshipping Tyrannus, or even the old pagan gods of the Celinadian Empire are not unheard off. There have been some unique cases in which a shaman has succesfully engaged a tribe in worship of himself. These forms of devotion rarely last long, as a shaman's rivals will disprove his divinity as the first possible opportunity.

History

Sages surmise that orcs sprang from the primordial beings that were overlooked by the gods of The Twelve, presumably because they had taken to life undergound to escape their eldritch masters, The Nameless Ones, and the War For Dominion with the gods. There are mulitple theories to however the orcs developed into a speicies. One is that the leftover magics and blood from the slain horrific cosmic beings seeped into the earth and over time twisted and contorted the primordial beings into what would become the orcs. Through their rapid rate of reproduction they grew into a sizeable clan and though little more than ferocious animales began to wage war with the Dwarves beneath the Drakor Mountains for dominion of the underworld. 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.

Slowly over centuries the orcs were driven from deep within the great mountain range and driven to the surface. There they became warlike tribes of pillagers and marauders.

by Generated by Malekoth using Image Creator from Microsoft Designer via Bing

Genetic Descendants

• Half-Orc

Lifespan

60

Average Height

7' tall

Average Weight

300-400 lbs.

Average Physique

A typical male orc stands about 7 feet tall and weigh around 300 to 400 pounds, with females being slightly smaller and lighter.

Body Tint, Colouring and Marking

An orc is born with a deep green skin colour which becomes more greyish as they age. The skin of an orc becomes entirely grey near the end of its lifespan, though few orcs live to witness that happen.