Earthdawn Revisited - Orcs

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Appearance:
Orcs have a powerful build, averaging 6 feet 3 inches in height and 225 pounds in weight. Large lower canines protrude over their upper lip and their body hair has a coarse texture, almost always colored black or gray. Some Orcs appear nearly hairless, and head hair usually grows in sparsely but with the thickness of fine wire. Common skin colors include olive, beige, pinkish-white, tan, and ebony.

Their ears are pointed, and about a quarter of the population show elongated ears. Natural life span for an Orc averages 40 years, though some live 60 years or more. Orcs reach their physical maturity in their early teens.

Mentality:
Modern Orc groups tend to be Nomadic and the confinement of the Kaers caused more than a few to fall to in-fighting as cabin-fever took hold. Those in mixed societies fared better although their high birth rate did put a strain on some relations. Most modern Orc tribes live as nomads and willingly inhabit any kind of dwelling. They live in tents when with their own tribes.

They often adopt social structures of the other races with whom they interact so they can vary heavily. So whilst some settle down in the settlements of other races and there are some permanent Orc cities. Others travel from city to city in merchant caravans, some act as mobile cavalry armies with their civilian population making up the baggage train. Or they may live as migratory herders or hunter gatherers.

Background:
They are currently the second most populous race in Barsaive.

They did not fare well during the Scourge, not being well suited to underground life, but many clans built their own Kaers, which they tended top share with Trolls and were often sizable communities within the Kaers of humans and Dwarves. These communities kept themselves socially more isolated to prevent friction and formed ghettoes within these Kaers. However their physical strength made many Kaers possible in the first place. Dwarves may have designed most Kaers, but it was Orc muscle that excavated them.

Names:
Orcs do not inherently have surnames. However if an orc achieves a great deed, they will take it as a surname and pass it on to their children. This means that they tend to have descriptive surnames. Wallholder, Wyrmbait, Firstspear and so on. Most Orcs who have a surname seek the prestige of being recognised by enough of their kin to earn their own name and thus family line.

Mechanics:


 * Brawny: +1 to Toughness
 * Gruff: The structures of their mouth make pronouncing Throalic and Theran languages difficult and so suffer a -2 to all rolls that rely on clear spoken communication, does not apply to other Orcs or trolls.
 * Low light vision: Can see in low light environments without penalty
 * Strong: Start with a Strength of D6

Gahad: An Orc’s Gahad is an individual reflex unique to each Orc that can be awoken by someone else saying or doing “that one wrong thing” in the Orc’s presence, and the Orc can either give in to it, be driven to resolve the situation, or try to restrain himself. While inconvenient for other races, Orcs consider Gahad as a sign of being alive, an energy from deep within that burns as the heart pounds when-ever necessary. (Choose one specific action that raises his Gahad such as not being addressed properly, somebody touching their possessions without permission or verbally insulting their courage "Nobody calls me Chicken!") it takes a spirit roll -2 to resist giving into the Gahad. Although that doesn’t mean he has to react violently to it, they must take immediate and obvious action against the offender, although openly insulting or attacking the offending party is common, spending all day denouncing them in a public square, a vicious letter writing campaign or similar social actions are all acceptable, as long as the offending party is made to regret their actions socially or physically that’s fine. Failing to immediately act on your Gahad either costs a bennie or imposes a -1 penalty on all actions for the rest of the day.

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