HALF-ORC

Orcs are fecund and create many cross-breeds, most of the offspring of such being typically orcish. However, some one-tenth of orc-human mongrels are sufficiently non-orcish to pass for human.

Half-orcs are boors. They are rude, crude, crass, and generally obnoxious. Because most are cowardly they tend to be bullies and cruel to the weak, but they will quickly knuckle under to the stronger. This does not mean that all half-orcs are horrid, only most of them. It neither means that they are necessarily stupid nor incapable. They will always seek to gain the upper hand and dominate those around them so as to be able to exercise their natural tendencies; half-orcs are greedy too. They can, of course, favor their human parent more than their orcish one.

As it is assumed that player characters which are of half-orc race are within the superior 10%, they have certain advantages.

A half-orc character can become a cleric (maximum of 4th level), a fighter (maximum of 10th level), a thief (maximum of 8th level), or an assassin. It is also possible for a half-orc character to operate in two classes at the same time: cleric/fighter, cleric/thief, cleric/assassin, fighter/thief, or fighter/assassin.

When playing a multi-classed character, the half-orc must abide by the restrictions of the least favorable class with regard only to armor.

All earned experience is always divided equally between the player’s two classes, even though the character might no longer be able to progress upwards in level in one of the two classes.

As orcs will breed with anything, there are any number of unsavory mongrels with orcish blood, particularly orc-goblins, orc-hobgoblins, and orc-humans. Orcs cannot cross-breed with elves. Half-orcs tend to favor the orcish strain heavily, so such sorts are basically orcs although they can sometimes (10%) pass themselves off as true creatures of their other stock (goblins, hobgoblins, humans, etc.). (MM, p.76)

Campaign Rule. Most player character half-orcs are orc-human crossbreeds that are among the 10% that can pass a fully human.

MAXIMUM LEVEL BY CLASS — HALF-ORC

Cleric = 4th

Fighter = 10th

Thief = 6th; Dex 17 = 7th; Dex 18+ = 8th

Assassin = U

ABILITY SCORES — MIN/MAX (FEMALE MAX)

Str 8/18/99 (17)

Int 3/18

Wis 3/18

Dex 7/17

Con 12/19 [+1]

Cha 3/18 {16}

POSSIBLE CLASS COMBINATIONS

Cleric

Cleric/Fighter

Cleric/Thief

Cleric/Assassin

Fighter

Fighter/Thief

Fighter/Assassin

Thief

Assassin

Half-orcs have infravision, so that they can detect varying degrees of heat radiation up to 60 ft. distant in the dark.

Half-orc characters are able to speak the “common tongue” of humanity, their alignment language, and orcish as well. These characters are able to learn a maximum of two additional languages.

As has been shown before, half-orc characters have bonuses of +1 to both their Strength and Constitution scores initially rolled, but they must subtract a Charisma penalty of -2. Note that this penalty is in regard to those non-player character henchmen who are not themselves of half-orc race, so the initial, unaltered, Charisma ability score should be recorded. [See the Dwarf, Charisma Modifier.]

Chance Of Hearing Noise: 3 in 20 (15%)

Dragon #33; Sage Advice. Q.Although the Players Handbook does not include them in the description of the Raise Dead spell, may elves and half-orcs be raised from the dead?A. No, they cannot. They do not have souls, and therefore a wish must be used to bring them back. Dragon #36, Sage Advice. Q. Why can’t half-orcs be raised, especially if they are 90% human as the Players Handbook says? A. The Players Handbook does not say that half-orcs are 90% human. It says that 10% of them (from which player characters are drawn) resemble humans enough to pass for one under most circumstances. Genetically, a true half-orc is always 50% human. Half-orcs cannot be raised simply because they do not have souls. I went right to the top for the answer to this one, and according to Gary Gygax himself, “Half-orcs cannot be raised-period.”

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