Forgotten Kingdoms Forums

While looking at half-orcs and thinking about their prominence in the game, as one of the basic starter races I was wondering about increasing their commonality. I dont know if the kismet cost should be adjusted or not, but I certainly think the half-orcs need some love, at least being a lot more common than simply locked up in the under dark. Would not neutral cities like Shadowdale or Westgate, and especially the orc camp not make more sense to also be options in starter locations? If tieflings can get around, why not half orcs? Just a thought. I seem to recall that even goblins got more options, I thought?

As I know it, Half-Orcs are accepted in most cities. I would assume Shadowdale, but I would say Shadowdale is a far cry from neutral considering the high concentration of strong goodies there.

I don't usually chime in on these things, but I have to agree here.

As a neutral halforc, your only option to begin is Skullport, and if you are not a class which requires intelligence you will not likely ever gain common without using a feat!

It does not make sense to keep them locked in the underdark and hidden when they are a more prominent, and a kismet cheap race even.

I'm pretty sure there is even a small settlement of Half-Orcs somewhere In Vaasa

Palischuk is a once-destroyed city that has since been rebuilt by, and is occupied by, half-orcs.

Someone could even build it as a starting location for Halforcs.

Honestly, I never started a half-orc just because of their hometown. I'd be more inclined to play one if they started out somewhere else.

Westgate could work if you wanted an existing new character area for neutral half orcs.

Just saying you don't need a neutral city to house a Half-Orc. They may not be the most beloved of all people in the city, but most cities are accepting. After all, most Orcs bred with other races did so without the other race's consent. Most are tolerable of the Half-Orc's circumstance.

Waterdeep, Shadowdale, etc.. should all be fair game for non-Evil Half-Orcs.

Just wanted to give this a little nudge!

I've just done some tests on the tport and have come to this:


Currently no matter what alignment every half orc starts in Skullport, and will not receive common.

Because of their low intelligence, unless pumping for a caster, the halforc will not likely have enough to get common. As a fighter, if you choose to leave your intelligence at base (8) this means you will need to earn four stat points to have enough intelligence for common. This means you need to earn level fifteen, and the coin.

However, Skullport is a rather trying place for EXP and coin - so my train of thought now was to drag myself to the surface, having luckily met someone kind to a lowbie to give boat fare. (Five platinum you would have to earn otherwise.)

Once at the surface, sewers and rat hill offer quicker exp but not so much the coin. You can enter Waterdeep's training area to earn it there. I earned exp to level 9, trained all of the lowbie skills available in the Font, as they speak 'all', then took a trek as level 9 down to the Orc Camp thinking my orcish would be a means to just train level 10.

Here's where the road block is put up, though I will note note entirely, there is still tongues if you find a friendly caster.
All of the mobs in the Orc Camp have a prog to respond with 'Me no trainz ouz'. to outsiders. So now you cannot speak common to train you level to 10 in any of the cities.

So summary:
Half orcs are dumb. They don't get common at creation, but logically in lore they should. They are not all raised by orcs, it's very uncommon as they're 'weak' comparatively to the savage beast orcs. Since they don't get common, and trainers train by language they're stuck wandering for mobs that speak Darkspeak or Orcish to train them, or begging for a limited time tongues to get to a point where they reach enough intelligence to merely learn common. (They shouldn't really even get darkspeak?)

They can only start in Skullport, but orcs themselves are from the surface in abundance. It doesn't make sense that magically every halforc is shipped away into Skullport slavery, they're not pig snout touting freaks of nature, just beefy and uglier. In lore, they are more common than halfelves and would be in any city and able to pass as a human in most cases.

They need some creation process love, and I almost said perhaps a kismet increase until I realised they are given more negative than positive stat wise! 50 still seems quite fair, thought 100 would not be bad either.

I'm not sure a higher kismet cost is strictly necessary - but I'm in favour of adding half orcs to Westgate, Zhentil Keep and Waterdeep with common as a starting language. Would they happily exist in the orc camp though? I'm not really clued up enough about orcs to know what they'll make of half-humans!

Does anyone have any objections or developments to the idea? I'll put it into practice, if not.

Lathlain wrote:I'm not sure a higher kismet cost is strictly necessary - but I'm in favour of adding half orcs to Westgate, Zhentil Keep and Waterdeep with common as a starting language. Would they happily exist in the orc camp though? I'm not really clued up enough about orcs to know what they'll make of half-humans!

Does anyone have any objections or developments to the idea? I'll put it into practice, if not.

I can see female half-orcs also forcing themselves on humans for whatever reason so perhaps it might be a good idea to include half-orcs in the orc camp as well.

I'm not sure if the orcs would treat half-orcs as any other member of their group, special members or as lesser but these orc-raised half orcs may provide another avenue of roleplay and give the race some more dimension.

I think letting them start in Westgate, Zhentil Keep with common as their tongue would work well.

There are examples, I can think of tribes of Thar for example, where halfbreeds are favoured and even dominate as leaders. Not always as raw brawned as a pure bloods, they can have their bulk more lean and agile, paired a faster and sharper intellect, making some half orcs more dangerous than their average cousins. Orcs tribes have often been amalgamations with many races, but this is not always from negatives. Human, ogre, and orc barbarian tribes are known to freely intermix in many cases. It depends largely on the tribes, whether shunned or embraced. Regardless, strength and ability is the proving ground, no matter your blood. A strong half orc demands more respect than any weaker trueblood.

Just to back it all up.

Lysha wrote:

Races of Faerun wrote:
Half-Orc

Regions: Amn, Chessenta, Damara, the Moonsea, the North, Vaasa, and Waterdeep.
Racial Feats: Headlong Rush.
Racial Prestige Class: Orc warlord.

Half-orcs are fairly common throughout Faerun. They have no true homeland to call their own and as a result most spend their lives wandering the world in search of a purpose. Half-orcs are invariably the product of a human and an orc, but stories are told of half-orcs carrying the blood of dwarves, goblins, hobgoblins, and even halflings, gnomes, and elves. Orcs are a fecund race, and such storied likely have some genesis in truth.
A half-orc is usually about as tall as a human and a little heavier. Their skin tends to be gray with green or even purple undertones, and their faces feature sloping brows, jutting jaws with prominent teeth, and flat, squashed noses. This and their coarse body hair make their lineage plain for all to see.