Environment

Special abilities

Regeneration 2 (4 d) | Indomitability 1 | Dark vision 5

Orcs live where others cannot hold out: in high mountains, on frozen plains, in jungles and in deserts far from civilization. Most are considerably larger than a human; they have a massive chest, long muscular arms and a large head with huge jaws.

They are not stupid, they just think simply and directly: when an orc wants something, it simply does it. They grow all their life, and because only few of them die of old age, the oldest can grow over three metres tall. Exceptionally, a talent for magic appears among them.

Society

Orcs live in warrior tribes of a few dozen to hundreds of fighters. They are led by the strongest among them, the war boss; the mightiest, the warlord, can unite several tribes and lead them on a great campaign against humans and other “puny” races. Outside war, orcs constantly fight one another for position. They consider death in a good battle an honour. They are spiritually led by shamans; when a shaman is also the leader, such a tribe is among the most dangerous.

Combat

They fight with primitive weapons and armour of their own making, but they gladly use loot as well; captured smiths must forge better gear for them. They use bows and, if need be, simple siege engines. In battle they are not very organized and rely on strength and numbers. Shamans command elemental magic and join the fight mainly when defending their settlement or storming a fortress.