• Size: Medium
• Speed: 30 feet
• Ability Score Modifiers: +2 Strength, -2 Intelligence, -2 Charisma. Darkvision: Half-orcs can see up to 60 feet (20 meters) in the dark. They can only see in black and white in absolute darkness.

• Orc Blood: For any race-related effect, the half-orc is considered an orc.
• Automatic languages: Common and Orc. Additional: Abyssal, Draconic, Giant, Gnoll, and Goblin.
• Favored Class: Barbarian. Multi-class half-orcs do not receive an experience point penalty when leveling.
• Alignment: Any

At the wild frontiers, barbarian human and orc tribes coexist in a climate of intestinal equilibrium, facing each other in times of war and trading in times of peace. Half-orcs born in such regions may live with their orc parents and humans, but this does not prevent them from knowing both cultures. For one reason or another, some leave their homes and travel to civilized lands, taking with them the tenacity, courage, and fighting potential learned in the wilds.

Personality

Half-orcs are moody, and aggressive, and prefer to act rather than think and fight rather than talk. However, those who succeed in their travels are those who know how to control themselves enough to live in civilized lands, not those who behave wildly.

Half-orcs love simple pleasures like eating, drinking, bragging, singing, fighting, drumming, and wild dancing. Fine amusements, such as poetry, elegant dances, and philosophy, are beyond their comprehension. Having a half-orc at the right kind of party can be quite an advantage; taking him to a duchess’s dance can be quite a waste.

Half-orcs living among humans are almost always condemned to violent careers where they can take advantage of their strength. Often rejected from any environment characterized by education, half-orcs are often welcomed and find friendship among adventurers, as many of them are also homeless and outcasts.

Physical description

Half-orcs measure 6 to 7 feet (1.80 to 2.10 meters) and normally weigh between 200 and 250 pounds (90 and 120 kilos). The grayish pigmentation of half-orcs, their sloping foreheads, prominent jaws, teeth, and rough coats make their lineage immediately apparent. Orcs view scars as signs of pride and believe that decorative scars are beautiful.

Any half-orc who has lived among or near orcs will have scars, whether signs of dishonor indicating who their former owner was, or marks of pride revealing their conquests or exalted position. Depending on how they feel about their scars, half-orcs who live among humans will either show them openly or hide them completely. Members of this race mature a little faster than humans and age much faster. They reach maturity at 14, and few manage to live past 75.

Relationships

Since orcs are sworn enemies of dwarves and elves, half-orcs may have trouble with members of both races. The fact is, orcs don’t have very good relations with humans, halflings, and gnomes either. However, all half-orcs often find a way to gain acceptance from those who hate or fear their monstrous cousins.

Some are reserved and try not to attract attention. Another small portion publicly demonstrates all the piety or kindness of heart they can (whether or not they are genuine expressions), and there are still others who are so harsh in their behavior that others have no choice but to accept them.

Alignment

Half-orcs inherit a certain tendency toward chaos from their orc parents, but, like their human relatives, they do not prefer good or evil. Precisely, those of the wrong alignment are usually the ones who grow up among orcs and want to live with them.

Half-orc lands

Half-orcs do not have their own land and the majority of them generally live among the orcs. Among the other races, the one with the best chance of accepting them is human. In fact, almost everyone who doesn’t live with the orc tribes is often on human land.

Religion

Like their cousins, many half-orcs worship Gruumsh, the main deity of the orcs and sworn enemy of Corellon Larethian, the god of the elves. Although Gruumsh is evil, he is worshipped as a god of war by many barbarians and half-orc warriors, even by those who do not share the deity’s alignment.

When Gruumsh devotees tire of giving explanations or don’t want to give humans reasons to distrust them, they simply omit questions related to their religion. For their part, those who want to strengthen the link with their human heritage worship the gods of men, and often don’t stop demonstrating their devotion.

Other languages

Orc is a language that lacks its own alphabet. On the rare occasions when someone uses the written form, the spelling used is that of the dwarf alphabet. Orc writing generally appears more frequently in the form of graffiti.