Advanced Dungeons & Dragons 5Th Edition (AD&D5E) The

Advanced Dungeons & Dragons 5th edition (AD&D5E) The Orc This product contains optional variant rules for the Orc race in the Dungeons & Dragons 5th Edition game, and is considered official for use in the Advanced Dungeons and Dragons 5th Edition game.

Sample file AD&D5E Game Terms The following are some terms and acronyms used and what they mean. Ability Score Adjustment (ASA). Raises the maximum an ability score can be increased to. Ability Score Improvement (ASI). Increases an ability score by the stated amount, but does not raise the maximum the ability score can be increased to. Ability Score Maximum (ASM). The maximum an ability score can be increased naturally. All player character's ability scores have a natural maximum of 20. Racial Ability Score Adjustment (RASA). The ability score adjustment your character receives for being a member of a certain race, subrace, and/or variant options. Racial Ability Score Improvement (RASI). Increases the chosen ability score by the amount given, but does not raise the maximum the ability score can be increased to. Racial Ability Score Maximum (RASM). The maximum an ability score can be increased naturally beyond 20 as a result of your race, subrace, and/or variant options. Customizing Your Race You can use your RASI's to customize your ability scores outside of your race's norm, but your RASM does not deviate from your RASA. Alternative Game Terms While some players may have particular sensitivities or triggers in regards to the term "race" and "subrace", the following alternatives can be used to mean the same thing: Origin = Race, and Lineage = Subrace. Origin Ability Score Adjustment (OASA). The ability score adjustment your character receives for being a member of a certain origin, lineage, and/or variant options. Origin Ability Score Improvement (OASI). Increases the chosen ability score by the amount given, but does not raise the maximum the ability score can be increased to. Origin Ability Score Maximum (OASM). The maximum an ability score can be increased naturally beyond 20 as a result of your origin, lineage, and/or variant options. Customizing Your Origin You can use your OASI's to customize your ability scores outside of your origin's norm, but your OASM does not deviate from your OASA. Sample file Orc Orcs are savage raiders and pillagers with stooped postures, low foreheads, and piggish faces with prominent lower Ranging Scavengers canines that resemble tusks. Their lust for slaughter demands that orcs dwell always To the common folk of the world, an orc is an orc. They within striking distance of new targets. As such, they seldom know that any one of these savages can tear an ordinary settle permanently, instead converting ruins, cavern person to pieces, so no further distinction is necessary. complexes, and defeated foes' villages into fortified camps Orcs know better. Different groups of orcs exist within a and strongholds. Orcs build only for defense, making no tribe, the actions of each dictated by the deity they pay innovation or improvement to their lairs beyond mounting homage to. To complement the various kinds of warriors that the severed body parts of their victims on spiked stockade spill forth to ravage the countryside, each tribe has members walls or pikes jutting up from moats and trenches. that remain deep inside the lair, seldom if ever seeing what When an existing territory is depleted of food, an orc tribe lies outside the darkness of their den. divides into roving bands that scout for choice hunting In addition, orcs have special relationships with two grounds. When each party returns, it brings back trophies creatures that are sometimes found in their company: the and news of targets ripe for attack, the richest of which is aurochs, a great bull that serves as a mount for warriors that chosen. The tribe then sets out en masse to carve a bloody revere Bahgtru, and the tanarukk, a demon-orc crossbreed path to its new territory. that is so depraved and destructive that even orcs seek to kill On rare occasions, a tribe's leader chooses to hold onto a it. particularly defensible lair for decades. The orcs of such a tribe must range far across the countryside to sate their Gruumsh One-Eye appetites. Orcs worship Gruumsh, the mightiest of the orc deities and their creator. The orcs believe that in ancient days, the gods Leadership and Might gathered to divide the world among their followers. When Orc tribes are mostly patriarchal, flaunting such vivid or Gruumsh claimed the mountains, he learned they had been grotesque titles as Many-Arrows, Screaming Eye, and Elf taken by the dwarves. He laid claim to the forests, but those Ripper. Occasionally, a powerful war chief unites scattered had been settled by the elves. Each place that Gruumsh orc tribes into a single rampaging horde, which runs wanted had already been claimed. The other gods laughed at roughshod over other orc tribes and humanoid settlements Gruumsh, but he responded with a furious bellow. Grasping from a position of overwhelming strength. his mighty spear, he laid waste to the mountains, set the Strength and power are the greatest of orcish virtues, and forests aflame, and carved great furrows in the fields. Such orcs embrace all manner of mighty creatures in their tribes. was the role of the orcs, he proclaimed, to take and destroy all Rejecting notions of racial purity, they proudly welcome that the other races would deny them. To this day, the orcs ogres, trolls, half-orcs, and orogs into their ranks. As well, wage an endless war on humans, elves, dwarves, and other orcs respect and fear the size and power of evil giants, and folk. often serve them as guards and soldiers. Orcs hold a particular hatred for elves. The elven god Corellon Larethian half-blinded Gruumsh with a well-placed Orc Crossbreeds arrow to the orc god's eye. Since then, the orcs have taken Luthic, the orc goddess of fertility and wife of Gruumsh, particular joy in slaughtering elves. Turning his injury into a demands that orcs procreate often and indiscriminately so baleful gift, Gruumsh grants divine might to any champion that orc hordes swell generation after generation. The orcs' who willingly plucks out one of its eyes in his honor. drive to reproduce runs stronger than any other humanoid race, and they readily crossbreed with other races. When an Tribes like Plagues orc procreates with a non-orc humanoid of similar size and Orcs gather in tribes that exert their dominance and satisfy stature (such as a human or a dwarf), the resulting child is their bloodlust by plundering villages, devouring or driving off either an orc or a half-orc. When an orc produces young with roaming herds, and slaying any humanoids that stand against an ogre, the child is a half-ogre of intimidating strength and them. After savaging a settlement, orcs pick it clean of wealth brutish features called an ogrillon. and items usable in their own lands. They set the remains of villages and camps ablaze, then retreat whence they came, their bSampleloodlust satisfied. file Orc War Chief Orog The war chief of an orc tribe is its strongest and most Orogs are orcs blessed with a surprisingly keen intellect that cunning member. The reign of a war chief lasts only as long ordinary orcs believe is a gift from the orc goddess Luthic. as it commands the fear and respect of other tribe members, Like Luthic, orogs prefer to live underground, although the whose bloodlust must be regularly satisfied lest the chief scarcity of food often brings them to the surface to hunt. Orcs appear weak. Scions of Slaughter. Gruumsh bestows special respect an orog's strength and cunning, and a lone orog blessings upon war chiefs who prove themselves in battle might command an orc war band. time and again, imbuing them with slivers of his savagery. A war chief so blessed finds that his weapons cut deeper into Stronger and Smarter his enemies, allowing him to inflict more carnage. An orog uses its strength to bully other orcs and its intelligence to surprise enemies on the battlefield. Many an overconfident elf, human, or dwarf commander has watched a "simple" orc warlord execute a clever maneuver to outflank King Obould Many-Arrows and destroy an opposing force, not realizing the orc is an orog. King Obould of the Many-Arrows tribe is a legend among the orc war chiefs of the Forgotten Realms, When encountered in great numbers, orogs form their own and he is the most famous orc chief in the history detachments within much larger orc hordes, and they are of the D&D game. always at the forefront of any attack, relying on their superior Smarter and more intuitive than most of his strength and tactical insight to overcome anything that stands kind, Obould slew his chieftain to take control of in their way. his tribe. Skilled in the arts of war and renowned for Few orc tribes actively seek out orogs to bolster their his violent temper, Obould proved himself a fierce ranks. The orogs' superiority makes them ideal leaders, and opponent in battle time and again. Over the years, thus deadly rivals to orc war chiefs, who must be wary of he subsumed other orc tribes into his own, until he orog treachery. commanded a horde of thousands. Obould leveraged his strength and influence to Detached Killers carve out a kingdom for himself in the Spine of the Wanting nothing more than to hack their enemies to pieces, World, a mountain range overlooking numerous orogs are a terrifying presence on the battlefield. They form dwarven, human, and elven strongholds. no attachments, even to their parents and siblings, and have After years of bloody conflict with his more civilized neighbors, Obould did the unthinkable no concept of love or dedication. They worship the orc and brokered a peace treaty with his enemies. This pantheon of gods-Gruumsh and Luthic foremost-because they treaty confused many of the orcs under Obould's believe that the gods have strength beyond reason, and command. It was either a clever ploy by Obould to physical might is all they respect. buy time while he strengthened his army for a final, decisive sweep across the Savage Frontier, or it Servants of Darkness was a troubling sign that Obould had forsaken the Mistrusted by orcs, some orogs form independent mercenary ways of Gruumsh and needed to be destroyed. war bands that sell themselves to the highest bidder. As long as they are rewarded, orog mercenaries gladly serve as elite warriors and shock troops for evil wizards, depraved giants, and other villains. Orc Eye of Gruumsh Orc Blade of Ilneval When an orc slays an elf in Gruumsh's name and offers the Ilneval is Gruumsh's battle captain, a devious strategist who corpse of its foe as a sacrifice to the god of slaughter, an directs Gruumsh's soldiers with boldness. Among orcs, aspect of the god might appear. This aspect demands an warriors that venerate Ilneval emulate their deity. Such orcs additional sacrifice: one of the orc's eyes, symbolizing the loss learn to command their fellows in ways that are Gruumsh suffered at the hands of his greatest enemy, unpredictable but help to ensure victory. Corellon Larethian. The wisest among these leaders gain Ilneval's favor and If the orc plucks out one of its eyes, Gruumsh might grant rise to become known as blades, tactical experts who advise the orc spellcasting ability and special favor, along with the their chief in matters of war. Blades lead from the front, right to call itself an Eye of Gruumsh. When not using their wading into combat fearlessly while barking orders at lesser auguries to advise their war chiefs, these savage devotees of soldiers. A blade knows how to use orcish ferocity to best the god of slaughter hurl themselves into battle, their advantage, and helps the ordinary warriors to work together weapoSamplens stained with blood. against their adversaries. file Most Red Fang enclaves keep and nurture giant bats, Orc Claw of Luthic creatures that are sacred to Shargaas. Red Fangs ride these Luthic is Gruumsh's wife and the paragon of maternity to all bats into battle or on secret raids and assassination missions orcs. She is the Cave Mother, a fierce dweller in the darkness into enemy territory. who raises new broods of orcs to be vicious and strong. Her symbol is the cave bear, and orc females raise such bears Aurochs alongside orc whelps. Females particularly attracted to Bahgtru, son of Gruumsh and Luthic, is the orc deity of Luthic grow long nails and lacquer them, learning to use unbridled strength. Legend says Bahgtru needed a mount as these claws as weapons much as Luthic uses her own. fierce as him for making war, so he sought a mighty aurochs, Orc females devoted to Luthic are in charge of fortifying subjugated the creature with his bare hands, and hauled it to and maintaining an orc stronghold. They help to guarantee Nishrek, Gruumsh's realm. Bahgtru named the beast Kazaht, the survival of the tribe, and most are skilled in the healing or "Bull" in Orc. On Kazaht's bare back, Bahgtru charges into arts. The most powerful among Luthic's disciples are the battle, ramming into an enemy host and leaping over the claws of Luthic, which can use the Cave Mother's magic to aurochs's horns to land in the midst of his foes. Orcs that heal, protect, and curse. revere Bahgtru might tend a stable of war bulls that carry them into combat. Trained to be fierce mounts from a young Orc Hand of Yurtrus age, aurochs are sacred symbols of Bahgtru. No orc will eat Yurtrus is the orc god of death and disease. He is a horrifying such creatures, which are treated as honored warriors when abomination covered in rot and infection, except for his they perish. perfect, smooth white hands. Orc priests that oversee the line between life and death are Tanarukk known by the others in the tribe as hands of Yurtrus. They dwell on the fringes of an orc lair, usually communing with When demonic corruption taints a tribe's leadership, orcs other orcs through the auspices of those who follow Luthic. might turn to abyssal magic to make tanarukks. Evil humans The hands of Yurtrus wear pale gloves made of the bleached who control orcs also use such power to bolster their skin of other humanoids (preferably elves), symbolizing their followers' strength. connection with Yurtrus, and are sometimes called "white The demon lord Baphomet gladly shares the secret of hands" as a result. creating tanarukks with those who entreat him for power. Every orc knows that the hands of Yurtrus are the tribe's The process corrupts an unborn orc of the tribe, gateway to the ancestors. Orcs who die having served the transforming it at birth into a creature much more savage tribe well go on to rituals meant to send them to Gruumsh's than an orc. realm. Although tanarukks are fearsome fighters, they are a threat As befits followers of a god who doesn't speak, hands of to their allies off the battlefield. Within the tribe's lair, a Yurtrus remove their tongues to emulate their deity, for a tanarukk is destructive and volatile, and best kept reason similar to why an eye of Gruumsh puts out one of its imprisoned. Sooner or later, a free tanarukk rampages eyes. through the tribe, attempting to take over by force. Most such coups fail, but at great cost to the tribe. If a tanarukk does seize the leadership of a tribe, reckless war is the course it Orc Nurtured One of Yurtrus inevitably chooses. When plague strikes a tribe, the hands of Yurtrus isolate the If a tanarukk manages to breed, its blood taints numerous sick. The priests then minister to those who can be saved but subsequent generations, so its female descendants randomly not healed. The hands cultivate the sickness of these produce tanarukks. Rather than risk raising a natural-born nurtured ones, turning them into instruments of defense and tanarukk, most tribes slay such abominations. weapons of war. When orcs go to battle, a band of nurtured ones might charge in first-to give themselves up while Orcs of Ixalan softening up the enemy by spreading Yurtrus's vile blessing in Orcs originally came from the same mountainous region its ranks. where the kingdom of Torrezon was born, and they have been enemies of the Legion of Dusk since it was originally formed. Orc Red Fang of Shargaas The entire race has been declared anathema by the Church Shargaas is the orc deity of deep darkness and sneakiness, a of Torrezon, and after centuries of fighting the Legion, the murderous god who hates anything that lives that isn't an orc. orcs have dwindled to only a few hundred in number. Some Orcs consider Shargaas to be a divinity suited to pariahs and still live on remote islands near Torrezon, but many have weaklings, all of them unfit for true roles in tribal life. These joined the Brazen Coalition to serve on pirate ships—taking outsiders live in the most remote, deepest parts of the tribe's on any role that calls for an abundance of sheer muscle. domain. Orcs are tall, standing head and shoulders above most The elite among Shargaas's followers are the assassins humans, and are generally twice as broad. They often and thieves that follow the cult of the Red Fang. They accentuate their bulging muscles by wearing tight-fitting perform assassinations, stealthy raids, and other covert bands and accessories around the thickest parts of their arms operaSampletions on the tribe's behalf. They rely on a mix of intense and necks. Their skin colo r rangefiles from light brown through training and magic granted to them by Shargaas. gray to almost jet-black.