Forgotten Kingdoms Forums

The 2nd book is out for Hunter's Blades and after reading it, I'd say it's an even better source for Gruumsh and Orc Shaman information than The Thousand Orcs.

Wow, noone has posted here in forever, lol. I've read those books, as well as the Two Swords, and you are quite right, those books have a lot about orcs. But I haven't yet picked up a book that had a half-orc in it, so I'be much to learn about them yet.

Don't fret yet, I'm sure I'll find a half-orc. Oh, wait, I remember now! I have read about Half-orcs! Promise of the Witch King, the second book in the Sellswords Saga by R.A. Salvatore. It's all coming back to me.

Can someone post some info about half orcs? Such as how others view them. How they might view elves and such if raised in a human city and such.

Yeah..posting Amazon links doesn't really -help-, IMO.

Perhaps it does not help you, but information in the form of novels online available to be purchased helps the population here who is willing to purchase said novels if they are willing to invest their time and money on said books. I don't think it's a problem, given that it is an option for all those willing to partake in it.

For those of you on a budget, here is a good link to some half-orc information on a semi-related 4E forum.

http://www.myth-weavers.com/showthread.php?t=50150

Half-orcs don't really have their own culture, and as such don't particularly have any good universal views on races as a collective whole. Regardless of in a human settlement, or an orc, they'll be a social pariah until the majority is forced to recognize their merits. Which is not an easy feat, as accomplishments are quickly dismissed by any prejudice to them.

As a general rule with social outsiders, you can bank on one of two driving factors: The drive to be accepted by the society they live within, or a desire to be left alone.

If your half-orc is raised by orcs, they can be expected to be viewed as weak, and the half-orcs ability to reason more soundly will only be responded with aggression in return. Not the best environment to nurture their racial benefits over their kin, but if they are able to find their niche, a half-orc can live relatively well...as far as orc lives go. Unfortunately most are killed in childhood by their playmates before it can be a realization.

If raised in human civilization, they'll be viewed as an eyesore race. Any establishment that relies on patronage will surely not hire you unless they're in a very seedy part of town, you look disgusting. Academics and scholars of equality may preach about ideological realms where both exist without incident, but they still don't want to have to look at your face when they order a meal. You'll likely find resentment in the hypocrisy of the words you hear compared to how often those speaking to you have to look away from your face with unconscious awkwardness. The human raised half-orc has a major decision to make, he can either accept his social standing as more of an ox than man and go about blue collar work for low pay and long hours and be rewarded with relative peace - or fight against the stereotypes of orcish blood and become well spoken, mild mannered, hygiene conscious, and morally sound in hope you can prove you aren't as simple as the beast your features remind everyone you've hailed from. Those who don't wish either route within a city/village may seek out a profession that involves solitude: bounty hunter, trapper, farmhand, mercenary...accepting a more uncertain future for furthering themselves even greater from having to face society.

And as far as how half-orcs view elves, I'd tentatively say their desire to not be reminded about their lineage keeps them from being too confrontational or opinionated about anything at all. Obviously, some may thrive on that confrontation - but stereotypically I'd suggest they'd go out of their way to avoid it.

None of this is particularly canon. I took what I could out of the half-orc portion from "The Complete Book of Humanoids" and tried to apply it constructively to how I view the FR world, and how those views would push and pull on the general psyches of half-orcs as I understand them.