Orcs & Half Orcs - Children of Grummsh

[DM Leverage]

Orcs

Four subraces of orcs are known to roam Faerûn. The first of these subraces are the gray orcs of the East, nomadic orcs who are fanatic in their worship of their deities. The second are the warlike mountain orcs of the North, quite similar in physical abilities to those orcs presented in the Monster Manual but with quite different societies and outlooks on life. The third are the half-orcs, one of the "homeless" races of Faerûn, a mixed people without a history to call their own. The fourth subrace comprises the orogs of the deep Underdark, mighty weaponsmiths and warleaders long forgotten by the surface peoples.


Overview

Warfare infuses every aspect of orc society. When they are not out raiding and attacking their enemies (often other orc tribes), orcs train in fighting, build and repair weapons and siege engines, and generally chomp at the bit for the next battle.

Orc tribes often make their lairs in natural caverns, since caves are easily defended and require little construction to fortify. It is just as common to find a tribe of orcs dwelling in a ruined fortress or underground complex captured by invading orcs. Orc tribes who have not found a suitable network of caverns or captured a dungeon or castle to live in build small nomadic villages instead. Orc villages consist of tents and other temporary structures arrayed in a circular pattern, guarded by a moat or palisade. These villages are built atop hills or against cliffsides, lakes, or rivers, utilizing natural obstacles to increase the defensibility of the village.

Orcs have a savage, patriarchal society. It is virtually unknown to find a female orc in a position of secular power in an orc community. Orc males typically take a handful of wives, who are usually treated as little more than trophies and slaves. Orc sons are expected to train in combat as soon as they can hold weapons, and infighting among siblings is encouraged. An orc father has no interest in rearing a child who cannot hold his own against his brothers, and a sickly or undersized orc never lives long.

Female orcs have little to look forward to. Rarely, a particularly tough orc woman can muscle her way into the orc armies and serve alongside her brothers as an equal, but for the most part, female orcs are regulated to the roles of servant and mother. Female orcs are as physically strong and capable as male orcs, but orc society is narrow0minded and brutal. The one real area in which a female orc can hope to excel is magic, particularly divine magic. Female orc adepts, clerics, and druids use their magical skills to strike fear and trepidation into the males of their community and are, for the most part, left alone to do what they want.

Slavery is common in orc communities. Usually, slaves in an orc lair consist of subjugated kobolds or goblins, although it isn't uncommon to see orcs of opposing tribes or subraces kept as slaves. Humans, gnomes, dwarves, and halflings are often kept as slaves too, although they are treated poorly and generally don't live long under such harsh conditions. Elf slaves are rare, since most orcs would prefer simply to kill and eat any elves they come across.


Racial History

Orcs - like elves, dwarves, and many other races now quite well known on Faerûn - are not true natives of Toril. The first migration of orcs into Faerûn occurred many thousands of years ago, through portals built by one of the creator races. For thousands of years after they first migrated to Toril, the orcs were little more than feral savages too busy fighting and warring among themselves to warrant the attention of the great elven nations. This age of true savagery among the orcs of Faerûn is believed to have lasted for well over fifteen thousand years. It wasn't until -3800 DR that the orcs of the North finally coalesced into actual tribes. Less than 200 years later, the tribes unified under a powerful set of orc leaders, forming the first orc horde. This legion of orcs first turned its attentions south in -3605 DR, when they launched a major invasion of the fledgling nation of Netheril and wreaked much havoc before Netherese and elven armies turned them back. Despite their defeat, the orcs found that they had a taste for warfare, and since that time periodic orc invasions have continued to menace the southern realms every few generations, when orc populations grew large enough for a new horde to form.

The North wasn't the only region of Faerûn destined to feel the savage claws of the orcs. In -1081 DR, a band of rebellious Mulhorandi wizards opened a portal to the orcs' homeworld, and unleashed a massive horde of the creatures on the world several years later. The resulting Orcgate Wars stand as the single greatest time of havoc and warfare inflicted on Faerûn by the orc race. The orcs were finally defeated in -1069 DR and scattered throughout the region.

Since those long-ago times, orcs have continued as a plague on the surface of the world. In the North, orc hordes have destroyed (or helped to destroy) many great kingdoms of dwarves, humans, and elves, including Ammarindar, Phalorm, Delzoun, Eaerlann, and Illefarn. Orc hordes have at various times ravage Chessenta, the Vast, and the Sword Coast as far south as Calimshan. It is only a matter of time before they gather again.


The Races of the Orcs

• Gray Orc (Eastern)
  
• Mountain Orc (Northern)
  
• Orog (Deep)

Random Starting Ages

Race	Adulthood	Simple¹	Moderate²	Complex³
Gray	14 years	+1d4	+1d6	+2d6
Mountain	40 years	+4d6	+6d6	+9d6
Orog	40 years	+4d6	+6d6	+9d6

¹ The simple classes are barbarian, rogue, and sorcerer.
² The moderate classes are bard, fighter, paladin, and ranger.
³ The complex classes are cleric, druid, monk, and wizard.

Aging Effects

Subrace	Middle Age¹	Old Age²	Venerable³	Maximum Age
Gray	30 years	45 years	60 years	+2d10 years
Mountain	30 years	40 years	50 years	+2d10 years
Orog	35 years	50years	65 years	+2d10 years

¹ -1 to Str, Con, and Dex; +1 to Int, Wis, and Cha.
² -2 to Str, Con, and Dex; +1 to Int, Wis and Cha.
³ -3 to Str, Con, and Dex; +1 to Int, Wis, and Cha.

Random Height and Weight

Subrace	Base Male Height	Base Female Height	Base Height Mod	Base Male Weight	Base Female Weight	Base Weight Mod
Gray	4'10"	4'5"	+2d12	150 lb.	110 lb.	x (2d6) lb.
Mountain	5'8"	5'0"	+2d10	150 lb.	115 lb.	x (2d6) lb.
Orog	5'10"	5'2"	+2d10	160 lb.	125 lb.	x (2d6) lb.

Source: Player's Guide to Faerûn. / Races of Faerûn

[DM Leverage]

Half Orc
- Playable Subrace -

Half-orcs are fairly common throughout Faerûn. They have no true homeland to call their own and as a result most spend their lives wandering the world in search of a purpose. Half-orcs are invariably the produce of a human and an orc, but stories are told of half-orcs carrying the blood of dwarves, goblins, hobgoblins, and even halflings, gnomes, and elves. Orcs are a fecund race, and such stories likely have some genesis in truth.

A half-orc is usually about as tall as a human and a little heavier. Their skin tends to be gray with green or even purple undertones, and their faces feature sloping brows, jutting jaws with prominent teeth, and flat, squashed noses. This and their coarse body hair makes their lineage plain for all to see.


Random Starting Ages

Race	Adulthood	Simple¹	Moderate²	Complex³
Half-orc	14 years	+1d4	+1d6	2d6

¹ The simple classes are barbarian, rogue, and sorcerer.
² The moderate classes are bard, fighter, paladin, and ranger.
³ The complex classes are cleric, druid, monk, and wizard.

Aging Effects

Subrace	Middle Age¹	Old Age²	Venerable³	Maximum Age
Half-orc	30 years	45 years	60 years	+2d10 years

¹ -1 to Str, Con, and Dex; +1 to Int, Wis, and Cha.
² -2 to Str, Con, and Dex; +1 to Int, Wis and Cha.
³ -3 to Str, Con, and Dex; +1 to Int, Wis, and Cha.

Random Height and Weight

Subrace	Base Male Height	Base Female Height	Base Height Mod	Base Male Weight	Base Female Weight	Base Weight Mod
Half-orc	4'10"	4'5"	+2d12	150 lb.	110 lb.	x (2d6) lb.

Regions: Amn, Chessenta, Damara, the Moonsea, the North, Vassa, and Waterdeep.
Racial Feats: Headlong Rush.
Racial Prestige Class: Orc Warlord.

History

Half-orcs have been a part of Faerûn for a very long time, but nonetheless they have never organized into a true civilization of their own. Unique half-orcs often gain great power in their chosen field and become well known in history tests, but their exploits are always in the name of another people, or (more often) isolated incidents not tied to any particular civilization.


Outlook

Most half-orcs are surly individuals who endured horrible childhoods. They are too coarse and savage to fit in well with humans, and too fragile and thoughtful to fit in with orcs. As a result, the majority of half0orcs grow up alone and without any influence from orc or human society. Thus, half-orcs speak their mind and act upon their feelings without any fear of repercussions. They are nomads, loners, and hermits at best, and murderers and savages at worst.

Without a place to call a home, and often without a family or close friends to count on for companionship, half-orcs learn from an early age to look out for themselves. This is often interpreted as greed or selfishness by other races, but too many half-orcs have learned the hard way that they are not welcome in any land, and most provide for themselves.

Half-Orc Characters
Half-orcs' natural strength and toughness push them strongly towards fighters and barbarians and away from spellcasting classes. Half-orc rogues are common as well.

Favored Class: Barbarian; half-orcs shun society as a rule and as a result must be strong and able to survive in the wilderness.

Prestige Classes: Half-orcs, in their nomadic travels, are often exposed to a wide range of prestige classes. As a result, it isn't unusual for a higher level half-orc to possess one or two levels in just about any prestige class she can meet the requirements for.


Half-orc Society

Although the half-orcs of Faerûn have no true nation to call their own, there are some small regions in the world that are ruled by their kind. Strangely, it seems that when half-orcs gather in large groups like this, they tend to be much more civilized than their feral orc kin. The city of Palischuk in Vaasa, for example, is a ruined city rebuilt by a large tribe of nearly ten thousand half-orcs who now trade peacefully with their neighbors. Another example is Phsant in Thesk, a city with a strong gray orc presence and a growing half-orc community.


Language and Literacy

All half-orcs speak both Common and Orc. They are accepted on the fringes of both orc and human societies, and being able to communicate clearly with both dramatically increases a half-orc's chance to find allies. Although they don't particularly make gifted linguists, half-orcs learn a number of other languages simply as a result of their nomadic, wandering lifestyles. Other languages commonly learned by half-orcs include Damaran, Giant, Gnoll, Goblin, Illuskan, and Undercommon.

All half-orcs are literate except for barbarians, adepts, commoners, and warriors.


Abilities and Racial Features

Half-orcs have all the half-orc racial features listed in the Player's Handbook.

• +2 Strength, -2 Intelligence, -2 Charisma: Half-orcs are strong, but their orc lineage makes them dull and crude.
  
• Medium: As Medium creatures, half orcs have no special bonuses or penalties due to their size.
  
• Half-orc base land speed is 30.
  
• Darkvision: Half-orcs (and orcs) can see in the dark up to 60 feet. Darkvision is black and white only, but it is otherwise like normal sight, and half-orcs can function just fine with no light at all.
  
• Orc Blood: For all effects related to race, a half-orc is considered an orc. Half-orcs, for example, are just as vulnerable to special effects that affect orcs as their orc ancestors are, and they can use magic items that are only usable by orcs.
  
• Automatic Languages: Common and Orc. Bonus Languages: Draconic, Giant, Gnoll, Goblin, and Abyssal. Smart half-orcs (who are rare) may know the language of their allies or rivals.
  
• Favored Class: Barbarian. A multiclass half-orc's barbarian class does not count when determining whether he takes an experience point penalty.

Source: Dungeons and Dragons 3.5 Edition - Player's Handbook, pg 19.

Half-orc Magic and Lore

Half-orcs do not have a centralized society that they can call their own, and as a result have not developed any unique racial spells or spellcasting traditions.

Half-Orc Magic Items
In keeping with their proclivity towards warfare, half-orcs prefer magic weapons and armor as a rule. Their dangerous lives often depend on their offensive and defensive capabilities. Items like hats of disguise are popular with half-orcs who dwell in regions where their kind is hated or mistrusted.


Half-Orc Deities

Half-orcs who remain among their orc kindred worship the gods of the orc pantheon, often with greater belief and fervor than regular orcs since many half-orcs feel the need to prove to their deities that they are just as powerful and strong as their full-blooded orc kindred. Those half-orcs who do not dwell among orcs are free to choose their deities as they will. Common patron deities for such half-orcs include Bane, Garagos, Hoar, Loviatar, Malar, Talona, Tempus, and Tyr.


Relations with Other Races

Half-orcs have uphill battles to fight when interacting with most other races, since many are quick to assume that their orcish blood carries with it an inherent savagery and cruelty. Most half-orcs return this suspicion and trepidation when interacting with others. They make friends only with difficulty. Once trust is established, it is often a fleeting thing that can be fractured with one misinterpreted comment. Often, a half-orc joins an adventuring company and never feels fully at ease with her traveling companions no matter how many times they have proven their loyalty.


Half-Orc Equipment

Half-orcs, as a race, have not developed any unique types of exotic weapons, although many individuals favor orc weapons such as the double axe. Most of them are reticent about owning more equipment and gear than they can easily carry, both because of their nomadic spirits and because they must always be ready to tear up their roots and move on if their neighbors suddenly decide to turn on them.

Animals and Pets
Half-orcs are particularly fond of keeping animals as pets, since pets have few preconceived notions about a person's background or race. Hunting dogs, horses, and falcons are all popular choices, and those with particular skill at Handle Animals sometimes train more dangerous monsters like owlbears, spider eaters, and dire animals as pets or minions.


Source: Player's Guide to Faerûn. / Races of Faerûn.

[DM Leverage]

The Gray Orcs
- NPC Race -

Regions: Damara, Moonsea, Orc, Rashemen, Thesk, Vaasa, or The Vast.
Racial Feats: Daylight Adaption, Headlong Rush.
Racial Prestige Class: Orc Warlord.
Level Adjustment: +1.

The orcs of the eastern lands are concentrated in the Moonsea and Endless Wastes today, with a much smaller number scattered through the various lands that lie between. A gray orc looks less bestial than their more savage northern kin, but is still obviously nonhuman. They are somewhat hairy, with long manes of bristly hair on their heads, shoulders, and backs. Their faces are less porcine than the mountain orcs, with the exception of their tusks. They have yellow, orange, or red eyes, lupine ears, and black or gray hair. Gray orcs are more apt to wear "civilized" clothing than mountain orcs, and prefer varying shades of brown, black, blue, and other dark colors. Skin tones are usually gray with mottled patches of lighter or darker gray on the chest and flanks.

Gray orc characters have the starting age, life expectancy, and height and weight characteristics of half orcs in the Player's Handbook (provided in the first post).


History

The lands of the East were relatively free of the orc scourge for much of Faerûn's history. Unfortunately, this all changed in -1081 DR, when the Theurgist Adept Thayd, last surviving apprentice of the ancient Imaskari wizards, opened a fateful portal to a savage world dominated by empires of fanatically religious orcs. Thayd was executed not long after for inciting the wizards of Mulhorand and Unther into rebellion, leaving no one on Faerûn who knew of the existence of the portal. For five years, the portal remained dormant until it wad discovered by the orcs, who poured through and laid siege to the nations of Mulhorand and Unther. This attack lasted for six years and became known to historians as the Orcgate Wars.

The Orcgate Wars began in -1076 DR and quickly escalated into a war of devastating proportions. Orc warriors slew thousands upon thousands, but the most terrible aspect of this army was its magical might. These orcs were much more fanatical than those of the North, and their clerics had developed amazingly powerful and deadly spells. The most potent of these magics was the ability for the orc clerics to call upon direct avatars of their deities, an ability they used often to overwhelm their enemies. The gods of Mulhorand and Unther also possessed avatars that dwelt on Faerûn, but they had expended much of their power in freeing their faithful from years of oppression under the Imaskari Empire, and were ill-prepared to defend their flock from the orc hordes. Nevertheless, the deities of these two nations opposed the orcs, who responded by calling upon avatars of their own gods. The resulting battle was the Battle of the Gods, a titanic clash of power that scarred the land. The Mulhorandi deity Re was slain by the leader of the orc pantheon, Gruumsh. Many more followed, as several powers of the Untheric pantheon were slain by the avatars of the orc gods. The orc armies and their deities were terribly weakened, despite their victory over their enemies, and two years later the shattered remnants of the Mulhorandi and Untheric pantheons rallied to defeat the orcs and their deities in -1069 DR.

So complete was the destruction of the orc horde that the gray orcs in the region have never been able to fully recover. Over the next several hundred years, the gray orcs fragmented time and time again into countless small tribes scattered throughout Thay, the Moonsea, and neighboring regions. Bitter infighting among their own kind has kept the gray orcs from returning to the power they once wielded during the Orcgate Wars.


Outlook

Gray orcs are just as mean, savage, and barbaric as their northern cousins, but they lack the mountain orcs' drive to conquer and enslave. A gray orc is quite likely to react suddenly and irrationally to events, trusting to his heart and instincts more readily than logic. When presented with an opportunity to attack a hated rival, a gray orc doesn't hesitate to attack even if he has been brutally defeated dozens of times before by the same enemy.

Gray Orc Characters
A gray orc's strength leads to the fighter and barbarian classes, and their perception and cunning also make them effective rangers.

Favored Class: Cleric. Although gray orcs are comfortable with the savage life of the barbarian, they tend to be more clam and collected than northern orcs, focusing their rage and hatred inward. This allows them to excel as clerics of the war-like orc deities.

Prestige Classes: Gray orcs don't have an immediate interest in most prestige classes, and prefer to remain with the one class they chose from the start. Many orc clerics become divine champions or divine disciples if they can meet the requirements, but few live long enough to do so.


Gray Orc Society

Gray orcs are nomads. They dwell in remote, desolated corners of northeast Faerûn and eke out a meager existence as they can, traveling along traditional migratory routes between established campsites and favorite caves as the seasons change. When resources in an area run low, a tribe moves on to greener fields.

A typical gray orc tribe consists of 30 to 50 members, led by the strongest orc in the tribe. This orc is known as a chieftain, and he is responsible for deciding when the tribe attacks its neighbors. The position tends to be a temporary one at best, for orc chieftains are constantly being killed (either in battle or through treachery) and replaced by new chieftains. The true power behind a tribe of gray orcs, though, is the tribe's high priest, who is typically an adept or cleric (often female) who has held the position for many years. The gray orcs are zealots, and the word of their tribal clerics is law. Clerics from other tribes are usually viewed as heretics, despite the fact that both tribes likely worship the same deity in the same manner.


Language and Literacy

The gray orcs speak a complex variant of the Orc tongue. Anyone who can speak Orc can understand this language, but many words, inflections, and pronunciations vary wildly between tribes and usually a period of a few days is required to sort out and get used to the idiosyncrasies of a new tribe. Gray orcs are not fond of learning new languages, but a tribe's clerics typically know Common (to interrogate captives) and Giant and Goblin (to interact with possible allies).

Gray orcs are not literate unless they have a level in a player character class other than barbarian.


Abilities and Racial Features

Gray orcs all possess the following racial traits:

• +2 Strength, -2 Intelligence, +2 Wisdom, -2 Charisma: Gray orcs are not as strong as mountain orcs, but they tend to be much more independent and strong-willed.
  
• Medium-sized
  
• Gray orc land speed is 40 feet. Their gait is long and loping and they can cover great distances quickly.
  
• Proficient with the greataxe and longbow; gray orcs train with weapons from childhood.
  
• Light Sensitivity (Ex): Gray orcs suffer a =1 penalty on attack rolls in bright sunlight or within the radius of a daylight spell.
  
• Scent (Ex): Gray orcs have the scent ability, as detailed in the Dungeon Master's Guide.
  
• Orc Blood: For all special abilities and effects, a gray orc is considered an orc. Gray orcs, for example, can use or create orc weapons and magic items with racially specific orc powers as if they were orcs.
  
• Favored CLass: Cleric.
  
• Level Adjustment +1: Gray orcs are slightly more powerful and gain levels more slowly than most of the other common races of Faerûn.
  
• Automatic Languages: Common, Orc. Bonus Languages: Draconic, Giant, Goblin.

Gray Orc Magic and Lore

Arcane spellcasters, while not unknown among tray orcs, are quite rare. In a society dominated by brutality and strength, there isn't much room for more academic study. Those orcs who do become arcane spellcasters are invariably loners or outcasts.

Divine spellcasters are much more common among the gray orcs. When they first invaded Faerûn during the Orcgate Wars, they possessed many unique spells, the most powerful of which was one that could conjure an avatar of the caster's deity. Since their defeat, knowledge of much of this magic has been lost, and now orc adepts and clerics focus on more common magics. Gray orcs do not often become druids.

Gray Orc Magic Items
Adepts and clerics often craft scrolls and potions to aid themselves or to bolster the strength of their tribe, but for the most part the majority of magical items found in a tribe of gray orcs consist of items stolen from the bodies of their enemies.


Gray Orc Deities

Gray orcs worship all the various orc deities equally. They acknowledge Gruumsh as the leader of the orc gods, but a typical gray orc doesn't feel bound to worship him above any other deity, and usually selects a deity that most closely aligns with that orc's particularly interests and temperament. Most of the orcs of a particularly tribe worship the same deity.


Relations with Other Races

The gray orcs don't get along well with anyone apart from their immediate tribe. Other orc tribes are viewed with suspicion and jealousy. Since it's assumed that another tribe has it better off than the one you belong to, orc tribes often attack each other to steal resources. They have no particular hatred for other races; gray orcs pretty much hate everyone equally. Notable exceptions are goblins and kobolds (whom the orcs often accept into their tribes as minions or slaves) and ogres (whom the orcs admire for their savage strength).


Gray Orc Equipment

Gray orcs are marginally cleaner than mountain orcs, and their equipment is kept in better shape as a result. Axes in particular are viewed as holy, and an orc takes fastidious care of his axe, sharpening it and repairing dents and tiny fractures constantly. They often keep track of their greatest kills by notching an axe's handle or inscribing names on the head of the axe. Tokens such as feathers, beads, gems, and body parts harvested from defeated enemies (fingers and ears are a favorite) often adorn an orc's axe. Gray orcs favor light armor that allows them to use their speed to best advantage.

Animals and Pets
Gray orc tribes often keep a small family of animals or beasts as guardians, but care of such creatures are held to be the responsibility of the tribe as a whole. These guardians are not typically very dangerous, since many tribes have learned the hard way that keeping something as powerful as a bulette is a good way to get the tribe eaten. Common tribe guardians include dire weasels, dire wolverines, dire boars, owlbears, and various kinds of vermin.


Source: Forgotten Realms: Races of Faerûn

[DM Leverage]

The Mountain Orcs
- NPC Race -

Regions: The North, Orc, Silver Marches.
Racial Feats: Daylight Adaption, Headlong Rush.
Racial Prestige Class: Orc warlord.

The orcs of the North and the Spine of the World comprise the oldest and most numerous of the various orc subraces active on Faerûn. In fact, many people assume that all orcs are like the savage warmongers found in these regions, and do not identify gray orcs or even half-orcs as separate races.

A mountain orc is quite obviously a monstrous creature to most of the civilized folk of Faerûn. Mountain orcs look vaguely like primitive humans but are a fair bit taller at seven or more feet in height; a rare few exceed eight feet in height. They have stocky, powerful necks, and their bestial heads seem to sit directly on their massive shoulders. Their eyes are always a deep shade of red, and their faces are dominated by porcine snouts and large tusks. Mountain orcs often weave braids and tiny bones into their thick matted hair, which is usually black. Their clothing is crude and primitive, often composed of unpleasant colors like blood red, mustard yellow, yellow0green, and deep purple. They are far from the cleanest race on Faerûn and delight in decorating their bodies with scars and warpaint.

Mountain orcs are not a long-lived folk. They use modified aging characteristics as described in the Player's Handbook.

Mountain orcs are bigger and more powerful than most other peoples of Faerûn and use the random height and weight characteristics [provided in the first post] (as per the Player's Handbook).


History

The mountain orcs have been a part of Faerûn for thousands of years, but for most of that time they were little more than feral animals who sporadically ventured south into the lands of the elven nations. The elves had little trouble turning back these sloppy invasions, and often sent parties north toward the Spine of the World to hunt orcs as sport. To this day the mountain orcs have a deep and seething hatred of elves, as well as for humans, since the elves took it upon themselves to protect humans from the orc-raids.

During the Crown Wars and the Wandering Years that followed, the elven nations weakened, and the orcs gained their chance to grow strong. The "Civilization" of the orcs of the North took many generations, and in that time the orcs developed important skills such as metalworking, armorsmithing and weaponcraft. Finally, in -3605 DR, the orcs poured forth from the Spine of the World in the first great orc horde and brought untold slaughter and despair to the fledgling nation of Netheril. This horde was turned back by the combined might of the elves and humans, but the orcs were merely driven back, not destroyed.

Since that initial invasion, orc hordes have periodically streamed south in attempts to take the lands of the humans and elves. One great incursion of orcs occurred not long after the fall of Netheril, in -100 DR; the only kingdom to stand against their might was the elven realm of Eaerlann. Another major incursion occurred in 1235 DR; this orc horde swept down from the northern most peaks all the way to Calimshan. This invasion lasted for six years, and was only turned away in 1241 DR by determined armies banding together.

Each time a new horde appears, it has been eventually beaten back to the north. Nevertheless, the people of these regions live in constant fear that the next one might prove to be the horde that breaks the back of the civilized world once and for all.


Outlook

The mountain orcs are above all else warlike and destructive. They firmly believe that one day they shall finally crush the civilized world and inherit the lands that are rightfully theirs. Their previous defeats are not thought of as losses, but as preliminary assaults designed more to test the resources and resolve of their enemies.

Despite this shared vision of a savage Faerûn ruled by orcs, the greatest hurdle they face is their inability to band together for any other reason than warfare. When the orc populations grow large enough and an orc leader emerges with enough charisma and clout to rally them, the orc tribes of the North can shake the world. But most of the time they mountain orcs are consumed with bitter infighting among themselves.

Mountain Orc Characters
Barbarians and fighters dominate among the mountain orcs, with rogues and adepts a distant third and fourth, respectively.

Favored Class: Barbarian; the mountain orcs have built their society around the concept that might makes right.

Prestige Classes: The most infamous prestige class among the tribes of the North is the dreaded orc warlord, those charismatic individuals responsible for gathering and leading the destructive orc hordes south against civilized lands. Mountain orcs sometimes become blackguards or assassins, but these are exceptional characters.


Mountain Orc Society

The mountain orcs gather in immense tribes. Unlike their gray orc kin, mountain orcs are not nomadic. They select a cavern or old ruin as a lair and settle in. As their populations grow, crude new buildings and keeps are built, and in many places in the North, orc lairs have begun to resemble actual cities. When an orc city grows too large, the usual result is a bitter civil war that ends with the losing faction breaking off and fleeing to form its own tribe elsewhere. This tradition of infighting keeps most orc cities and fortresses from becoming too large. The size of a mountain orc tribe varies greatly, depending on the success of the tribe and its age. Smaller tribes are rarely less than 50 members, and the larger tribes such as the Tornskull Orcs, can number in excess of 5,000 fighting orcs.

The number of orc tribes in the North is past guessing, and tribes rise or vanish on a monthly basis. Nevertheless, several tribes are large and old enough to have become infamous throughout the region. The three major tribes of the Rauvin Mountains are ta perfect example: the Red Fangs, the Heart Takers, and the Tornskulls have long terrorized this region. The orc tribes in the foothills and heights of the Spine of the World are by for the most numerous in total number, and it is also here that one of the most notorious and successful orc tribes no dwells - the Many Arrows tribe, lead by King Obould.


Language and Literacy

All mountain orc characters can speak Orc and Common. Unlike the gray orcs, the various northern tribes speak very similar dialects of Orc, most likely due to the fact that there is much more interaction among the various mountain tribes than there is among the independent tribes of the east. Mountain orcs often learn Giant and Goblin as well, so they can communicate with their like-minded neighbors, and Common so that they can interrogate prisoners.

All mountain orcs are illiterate, except for those who have a player character class other than barbarian.


Abilities and Racial Features

Mountain orcs all possess the following racial traits:

• +4 Strength, -2 Intelligence, -2 Wisdom, -2 Charisma: Mountain orcs are fantastically strong, but they react to situations with violence and poor planning.
  
• Medium-size.
  
• Mounta orc land speed is 30 feet.
  
• Darkvision up to 60 feet.
  
• Light Sensitivity (Ex): Mountain orcs suffer a =1 penalty on attack rolls in bright sunlight or within the radius of a daylight spell.
  
• Orc Blood: For all special abilities and effects, a mountain orc is considered an orc. Mountain orcs, for example, can use or create orc weapons and magic items with racially specific orc powers.
  
• Automatic Languages: Common and Orc. Bonus Languages: Draconic, Dwarven, Giant, Goblin.
  
• Favored Class: Barbarian.

Mountain Orc Magic and Lore

The mountain orcs are more interested in physical combat than magic. Nonetheless, they understand and appreciate the tactical value of having magical support in a war. Their spellcasters focus on magic that can be directly applied to combats, especially spells like hated, keen edge, bless, prayer, and others that support the fighting troops. Despite this, many tribes of orcs think of magic as the coward's route, something used by their hated enemies (usually the elves). To embrace the use of magic is to concede that one's enemies are to be respected - a concept that doesn't sit well with many orcs.

Mountain Orc Magic Items
Mountain orcs magic items are nearly always weapons or armor. They prefer to use items that anyone can access, such as potions, rings, weapons, armor, or most wondrous items and rods. Scrolls, staffs, and wands are items of mockery, mostly because the majority of the mountain orcs simply can't make them work and thus deride them to inflate their own importance.

Iconic Magic Item: Some mountain orc spellcasters manufacture spears of impaling, designed to slay the elves and dwarves they hate.


Mountain Orc Deities

The mountain orcs acknowledge the various orc deities, but they do not let matters of faith and religion get in the way of their goals. They assume that the orc deities placed them in this world to do what they do best and do not feel the need of constant support from clerics and the like. Almost all mountain orc clerics are worshipers of Gruumsh, since the other members of the orc pantheon are thought of as little more than the servants of Gruumsh. There are also a large number of orc druids in the North; these are usually loners who dwell apart from orc tribes. An orc druid is either Chaotic Neutral or Neutral Evil. They serve as oracles and advisers for orc chieftains, and are often called upon to use their power over nature to aid orc armies.


Relations with Other Races

The mountain orcs are consumed with hatred toward most nonorc races (in particular elves, humans, and dwarves). Despite this, they remain on good terms with other races like the various goblinoid races, giants, and other evil denizens of the North. Often ogres, trolls, and hill giants can be found living in orc communities. It's often said an orc will willingly breed with anything even vaguely humanoid.


Mountain Orc Equipment

Mountain orcs have the technology and skill to build their own weapons and armor, and have specialized in the construction of specialty axes such as the orc double-axe. For equipment, armor, and non-axe weaponry, though, the mountain orcs prefer to outfit their armies with gear and weapons looted from their defeated enemies. A mountain orctreats his axe with respect, but most of the rest of his equipment is neglected and ignored; when it finally breaks or falls apart it is simply discarded and replaced at the earliest opportunity from loot taken from another enemy. They prefer to wear the best armor they can find or afford, usually scale mail.

Animals and Pets
Mountain orcs often use animals, beasts, and other monsters as guardians for their lairs, but usually such guardians are just as dangerous to the orcs as to potential intruders. They reason that taming a wild animal dulls the creature's instincts and senses, so a completely feral creature is much more effected a guardian. Generally, an orc tribe sets aside a section of their territory as a lair for these creatures. Chimeras, displacer beasts, manticores, phase spiders, and winter wolves are often found living with orc communities in this manner. If the guardian creatures are unintelligent, the orcs instead incorporate them into traps, stocking underground pits and caves with the monsters and then rigging chutes and trap doors into floor to drop intruders into these caverns. Oozes and monstrous vermin are often used as living traps in this fashion.


Source: Forgotten Realms: Races of Faerûn

[DM Leverage]

Orogs
- NPC Race -

Regions: Anauroch, The North, Silver Marches, Orc, or Orog.
Racial Feats: Daylight Adaption, Headlong Rush.
Racial Prestige Class: Orc Warlord.
Level Adjustment: +2.


Although everyone in Faerûn knows about the orc hordes of the North (the mountain orcs) and the nomadic orcs of the east (the gray orcs), only a relative few know of a third subrace that hails from the deeps below ground. The Underdark is the chosen haunt of these terrible creatures, the orogs. After thousands of years of survival in the harsh and dangerous Underdark, the orogs have changed to match their home, becoming more ferocious and better able to cope with the dangers found there.

Physically, an orog looks similar to a large mountain orc, except that the ears are somewhat larger, and their eyes are huge and pale. They average six and a half feet tall.

Over the centuries, orogs have mastered the art of forging armor and weapons from the strange ores found in the Underdark. They favor half plate and full plate armor, which are typically adorned with armor spikes. Orog weapons are festooned with a multitude of hooks, spines, and redundant cutting edges. An orog rarely goes anywhere without being fully armed and armored.

Orogs use the aging effect characteristics as described in the Player's Handbook.

Orogs are bigger and more powerful than most other peoples of Faerûn, and use modified height and weight characteristics (provided in the first post).

History

The orogs are descended from the Skullbiters, a large tribe that lived in the spine of the World thousands of years ago. These orcs were among the most brutal and savage warriors of the first orc horde to attack the southern lands in -3605 DR. When the horde was finally repelled, the Skullbiter orcs were cut off from their retreat to the north. Cornered between the Netherese and elven armies, the Skullbiters fled into a narrow cave at the end of a canyon. The narrow cave quickly gave way to a seemingly endless maze of caverns; the Skullbiters had discovered the Underdark.

The orcs soon realized they were hopelessly lost, but they knew that their enemies would never follow them into these lightless vaults below. Whenever they came to a choice in their journey through the Underdark, they chose the route that led deeper into the ground. Eventually, the Skullbiters came to a vast underground cavern filled with a veritable jungle of phosphorescent fungi. The orcs figured they had fled long enough, and in the wan light of the fungus jungle, they decided to settle down.

Over the next several thousand years, the Skullbiters spread like a plague through the deeps, often choosing caverns filled with deadly fungi or other dangerous creatures. More often than not, the orcs subjugated these creatures. In their expansion outward, the orcs also discovered numerous veins of pure metal ranging from iron to mithral. By -1000 DR, the Skullbiters had split into nearly a dozen new tribes and had grown strong indeed. Before long, the one-time orcs came to be known as orogs.

With the fall of Ascalhorn, Ammarindar, and Eaerlann in the 0th century DR, the orogs found their way clear to return to the surface world. Lone orogs had long blundered up into the surface world, but they had always been isolated arrivals. Now, the orogs began to seethe up from below in greater numbers than ever. The sight of the upper world awakened a mysterious urge in their hearts. The orogs have found to their great delight that their lesser kin, the mountain orcs, are easily bullied into subservience.

The vast majority of orogs still dwell in the caves below, but when the next orc horde rises it will be one of the likes of which the North has never seen. The orogs have been slowly but surely supplying their less-talented kin with deep-forged weapons and armor, and more than a few mountain orc tribes are now led by orog warlords and champions.


Outlook

The orogs spent thousands of years battling terrible creatures for living space in the Underdark. Now that they have finally begun to return to the surface world, they are finding it to be something of a paradise. Stronger and better equipped than most of their enemies, the orogs are quickly settling into positions of leadership in the eastern tribes of mountain orcs near Anauroch. Whereas mountain orcs revel in the act of war, the orogs revel in its spoils. They are quick to rise to battle, but afterward they fall back to enjoy the fruits of their victories. The concept of leading a horde of raging orcs on a pointless crusade that only ends when the last aggressor falls, still advancing, is alien to the mindset of the orog. Why go to war if you can't enjoy the results?

Orog Characters
Most orog characters are fighters or barbarians, but recently more orogs are becoming rangers and rogues as they explore the surface world.

Favored Class: Fighter. Orogs have been battling ceaselessly in the Underdark for centuries. Because orogs have higher Charisma scores than other orc races, a significant minority of them are bards and sorcerers.

Prestige Classes: Many orogs near the surface take the orc warlord prestige class with the hope that they can harness the random, almost mindless, fury of the orc horde for their own conquests and raids.


Orog Society

Deep underground, the orogs use slave labor to expand caverns into well-defended cities. These cities are completely enclosed in the rock and consist of huge, seemingly endless rooms connected by numerous large processionals and public squares. Orog cities often consist of layers, with rooms atop rooms atop rooms. Nobility usually resides in the highest chambers, which are accessed by trapped stairwells and vertical shafts with crude rope lifts. Orog cities such as these can house upwards of eight thousand orogs and up to three times that many slaves.

Most orog cities are much smaller and are comprised of only a few hundred orogs and slaves. All the near-surface cities are like this, although they mimic the larger cities' tendency to consist of dozens (if not hundreds) of interconnected small rooms. On the surface, orogs have so far not built cities of their own. Rather, they have simply moved in and taken over tribes of mountain orcs, seizing the best buildings for themselves and displacing the orcs to the smaller ones.

The one thing that binds together all orog societies is the placement of the forges. Orogs have a long tradition of armorsmithing and weapon forging, and the first thing a tribe of orogs look for when they pick a site for a new town is a natural place to set up a forge. Volcanic vents and pools of magma are favorites, but more traditional forges built on epic scales serve as well. Orog forges are community-held, and any orog is welcome to build armor and weaponry at the forge just as long as what is produced is either put to immediate personal use or placed in the community armory.


Language and Literacy

Orogs speak Orc and Undercommon. Those few who have a knack for languages learn another tongue common in the Underdark, such as Dwarven or the drow dialect of Elven. Now that the orogs are exploring Anauroch, it's likely some orog characters will learan the tongues of the surface world as well.

All orogs are literate, except for barbarians, commoners, and warriors.


Abilities and Racial Features

Orogs all possess the following racial traits:

• +6 Strength, -2 Dexterity, -2 Wisdom, +2 Charisma: Orogs are incredibly strong, and they make natural leaders despite their ferocious appearance.
  
• Medium-sized.
  
• Orog land speed is 30 feet.
  
• Darkvision up to 120 feet.
  
• Proficient with greatsword and throwing axe. All orogs train with some sort of martial weapon from a very young age.
  
• +2 racial bonus on Craft (armorsmithing) and Craft (weaponsmithing) checks. Orogs train from an early age at their tribal forges
  
• +2 Natural Armor.
  
• Light Blindness (Ex): Abrupt exposure to bright light (such as sunlight or a daylight spell blinds an orog for 1 round. In addition, orogs suffer a -1 circumstance penalty on all attack rolls, saves, and checks while operating in bright light.
  
• Resistances: Orogs have fire resistance 5 and cold resistance 5. They are inured to extremes of temperature.
  
• Orc Blood: For all special abilities and effects, an orog is considered an orc. Orogs, for example, can use or create orc weapons and magic items with racially specific orc powers as if they were ordinary orcs.
  
• Automatic Languages: Orc, Undercommon. Bonus Languages: Common, Dwarven, Elven, Goblin, Giant.
  
• Favored Class: Fighter.
  
• Level Adjustment: +2. Orogs are more powerful and gain levels more slowly than most of the other common races of Faerûn.

Orog Magic and Lore

Although orogs do not have an inherent distrust of magic, they have little patience for it. Clerics are respected in orog society, not only for their curative magic but because they represent the orog race and serve as spiritual guides. They are often called upon to aid in creating magical weapons. The most common spellcaster in orog society, though, is the bard. Orog bards are often important members of tactical strike, using drums and chanting to whip the soldiers into a frenzy, then curing them of their wounds after a battle. Orog sorcerers are rare, but the natural leadership and force of personality possessed by orogs make them idea sorcerers. Those few who develop sorcerous powers become mighty indeed.

Orog Magic Items
Orogs are not known for their creativity; orog magic items tend to be short and to the point. An orog crafting a magical weapon doesn't bother with fancy weapon qualities, opting instead to simply increase the enhancement bonus of a weapon. They have little interest in items like wands, staves, and scrolls, but potions are well liked due to their portability and endless uses in combat. An orog army outfitted with potions of bull's strength, endurance, enlarge, and haste is a potent force indeed.


Orog Deities

Orogs brought the worship of Gruumsh with them into the Underdark and have more or less forgotten the other various orc deities. Certain fringe cults of orogs in the deep Underdark have started worshiping Ghaunadaur, but these orogs avoid their more traditional kin. Religion is an established facet of orog society, but not an overwhelming one. In many cities, orog clerics are thought of as little more than healers, the average orog having little interest in spiritual matters.


Relations with other Races

Orogs get along the best with orcs, whom they find easy to bully and subjugate. They are intrigued by the concept of the half-orc, since these hybrids can operate in the blinding light of the sun with ease and make excellent warriors for surface world campaigns.

Those orogs who remain deep underground often engage in more or less friendly trade with the gray dwarves and the drow, who value the productivity of orog mines enough to let orog cities alone. The orogs often make war on the svirfneblin, but they try to avoid the more alien races such as the illithids and aboleth, whose mental powers can cut down even the mightiest orog with ease.


Orog Equipment

Orogs are loath to use armor or weaponry of less than masterwork quality; any weapons they construct that fall below this expected level of quality are usually set aside for young orogs to practice with. They have little interest in some of the more exotic types of weaponry found in the Underdark, preferring to use relatively simple weapons instead. The greatsword is the orogs' favorite melee weapon, and they find that throwing axes make good use of their high Strength in the close quarters of many Underdark battles.

Animals and Pets
A typical orog lair not only includes two to three times the orog population in various humanoid slaves, but also a large number of war-trained animals as well. Near the surface, orogs favor dire animals (particularly dire boars and dire bears), while deep underground they often train giant lizards and dire bats as steeds or guardians. In some of the larger orog cities, they keep creatures like thoqqua and even salamanders or fire elementals as guardians for their forges.


Orog Region

This region represents an expatriate orog living among the orcs of the surface world.

Preferred Classes: Barbarian, cleric, fighter, sorcerer. A character of one of these classes may choose a regional feat and gain his choice of the bonus equipment below as a 1st level character.

Automatic Languages: Orc, Undercommon.

Regional Feats: Blooded, Bullheaded, Daylight Adaption, Thug.

Bonus Equipment: (A) Greatsword* or throwing axe*; (B) banded mail* with armor spikes; (C) Potion of enlarge (at 5th level) and masterwork armorsmith or weaponsmith tools.

Source: Forgotten Realms: Races of Faerûn