I saw someone on G+ asking for a half-orc write-up for DCC.
This got me thinking about why someone might want to play a half-orc... but I didn't come up with much.

Since the guy asking was looking for unseen/unofficial rules (and looking to make up his own if he didn't find any) I can't assume it's just because of some precious rules/mechanics bonus.
 
It seems to me that if you wanted to run a strong/brutal character you could go with a plain old fighter and play him as a barbarian.
Or, if you like orcs go for a purebred/vatbred one... with all the social pariah baggage that might come with it.
Why half-orc? They're still visually non-human so likely to suffer prejudice... likely from both purebreed races. Is there some widespread concept of half-orcs I'm not tuned into?
Is it because playing a straight orc would just lead to too much trouble?

I don't get it, any thoughts?

Quote from: Simlasa;811268I saw someone on G+ asking for a half-orc write-up for DCC.
This got me thinking about why someone might want to play a half-orc... but I didn't come up with much.

Since the guy asking was looking for unseen/unofficial rules (and looking to make up his own if he didn't find any) I can't assume it's just because of some precious rules/mechanics bonus.
 
It seems to me that if you wanted to run a strong/brutal character you could go with a plain old fighter and play him as a barbarian.
Or, if you like orcs go for a purebred/vatbred one... with all the social pariah baggage that might come with it.
Why half-orc? They're still visually non-human so likely to suffer prejudice... likely from both purebreed races. Is there some widespread concept of half-orcs I'm not tuned into?
Is it because playing a straight orc would just lead to too much trouble?

I don't get it, any thoughts?

I dunno about widespread concepts, but this is the half-orc character I'm currently playing:

Dacre Hounslowe, 3rd level half-orc oath of the ancients paladin
Born misshapen and bestial, Dacre Hounslowe has come to regard himself as beautifully grotesque. He is an aesthete, but of a peculiar stripe: he only finds the thrill of pleasure in perceiving that which is terrifying and awe-inspiring to behold. As such, he feels a deep reverence for the monstrous beauty and destructive power of nature. His aesthetic path has led him to become a paladin pledged to protect the sublime grotesqueries of the natural world, and to gratify his animalistic senses at every opportunity.

Quote from: Simlasa;811268Why half-orc? They're still visually non-human so likely to suffer prejudice... likely from both purebreed races. Is there some widespread concept of half-orcs I'm not tuned into?
Is it because playing a straight orc would just lead to too much trouble?

I don't get it, any thoughts?

I'm playing a half-orc cleric in D&D5 right now. I'd be fine with a full-blooded orc, but it wasn't an option in the rules.

In a previous GURPS Fantasy campaign, I was a full-blooded orcish arms merchant - but that was in a setting where orcs were largely integrated with the other races like humans, elves, and dwarves.

I think the problem with full-blooded orcs in D&D is that orcs are designated as an evil race and are a common opponent. They prefer it is there are more clearly cut good guys and bad guys, and orcs are among the bad guys.

Quote from: jhkim;811280I think the problem with full-blooded orcs in D&D is that orcs are designated as an evil race and are a common opponent. They prefer it is there are more clearly cut good guys and bad guys, and orcs are among the bad guys.

So is it kind of similar to people who want to play Drow? Want to play the bad guys as good guys? Why not just a 'good' orc?

The 'niche' that the half-orc fills is big-and-ugly. So it fills a niche for the players who don't give a crap about society or charisma or whatever and just want to hit stuff.
The 'half-' goes on the front because having good orcs raises lots of moral questions which may add more moral ambiguity than you really want, unless you especially like grimdark.

Half-Orc is pretty much Jannets go-to race to play. This started with the old AD&D boar headed orcs and half-orcs had those features too in the campaign we were both in. As mentioned in an older thread, she had rolled really well and was just short of having a Ranger. She got an idea and asked the DM if she could play a Half-Orc Ranger as that would give her just enough to qualify.
The DM allowed it and she had a blast playing this aggressive Miss Piggy character.

Ooh, I wanna share my 5e half-orc!

"I-like-ponies", 2nd level Barbarian Folk Hero

Half-orcs reach adulthood at age 14. "I-like-ponies" is a 6'8" ten year old girl with red hair in long, braided pigtails who loves ponies, and horses, and donkeys... She had a vivid dream that she's gotta save them, and collect them, and love them all in one big herd. When she woke her village's stables were on fire and she rescued all (but one), becoming the youngest folk hero around!

Her mommy was an orc who was 'won' by a passing band of human warriors, destroying her band in a glorious 'marriage proposal' victory. And then, after getting pregnant while traveling, her "no-good, some-such of a father" gone huntin' dragons without her mommy, "probably to go off 'n die out there eating strange weeds like a fool without a female around." So abandoned onto the nearest human village her mom made due and raised her right in the orcish tradition as best she could.

The end!

Quote from: Opaopajr;811357Ooh, I wanna share my 5e half-orc!

"I-like-ponies", 2nd level Barbarian Folk Hero

Half-orcs reach adulthood at age 14. "I-like-ponies" is a 6'8" ten year old girl with red hair in long, braided pigtails who loves ponies, and horses, and donkeys... She had a vivid dream that she's gotta save them, and collect them, and love them all in one big herd. When she woke her village's stables were on fire and she rescued all (but one), becoming the youngest folk hero around!

Her mommy was an orc who was 'won' by a passing band of human warriors, destroying her band in a glorious 'marriage proposal' victory. And then, after getting pregnant while traveling, her "no-good, some-such of a father" gone huntin' dragons without her mommy, "probably to go off 'n die out there eating strange weeds like a fool without a female around." So abandoned onto the nearest human village her mom made due and raised her right in the orcish tradition as best she could.

The end!

So much awesome!

Quote from: Simlasa;811281So is it kind of similar to people who want to play Drow? Want to play the bad guys as good guys? Why not just a 'good' orc?

It's a good question. Why have the drow been an accepted "bad guy" race for years, but never orcs?

I don't think there's a simple answer to that.

One aspect is that orcs are considered more like "mooks", whereas drow are more sophisticated bad guys.

Quote from: jhkim;811374It's a good question. Why have the drow been an accepted "bad guy" race for years, but never orcs?

I don't think there's a simple answer to that.

One aspect is that orcs are considered more like "mooks", whereas drow are more sophisticated bad guys.

Yup.

Drow have intelligence and choice. They choose to be bad and so can choose to be good.
Orcs, like goblins, are all bad or killing their babies and setting light to their warrens/dens becomes problematic.

I would've played an orc, but it wasn't an option in the game we were playing. I don't think a lot of games (least old-school ones) have full orc as an option. Anyway, I loved my half-orc thief lady, so I mostly go for half-orcs out of nostalgia now.

Quote from: jhkim;811280I think the problem with full-blooded orcs in D&D is that orcs are designated as an evil race and are a common opponent. They prefer it is there are more clearly cut good guys and bad guys, and orcs are among the bad guys.

Quote from: Bloody Stupid Johnson;811310The 'half-' goes on the front because having good orcs raises lots of moral questions which may add more moral ambiguity than you really want, unless you especially like grimdark.

Quote from: jhkim;811374One aspect is that orcs are considered more like "mooks", whereas drow are more sophisticated bad guys.

Quote from: jibbajibba;811375Orcs, like goblins, are all bad or killing their babies and setting light to their warrens/dens becomes problematic.

I guess that's where it stymied me... because in the majority of games I've played either there aren't any orcs at all or they're painted in shades of gray and ARE a viable PC race... such as in Earthdawn.
I was missing the element of D&D-think.

Quote from: Mr. Kent;811380I would've played an orc, but it wasn't an option in the game we were playing. I don't think a lot of games (least old-school ones) have full orc as an option. Anyway, I loved my half-orc thief lady, so I mostly go for half-orcs out of nostalgia now.

Neither Orc nor Half-Orc are an option in core DCC so that's why I wondered why the guy was asking for a house-ruled Half-Orc... why not a house-ruled Orc... if he wanted to play the large/brutal/primitive stereotype and DCC has no Good/Evil alignment... just Law/Chaos.

Quote from: Simlasa;811268Why half-orc? They're still visually non-human so likely to suffer prejudice... likely from both purebreed races. Is there some widespread concept of half-orcs I'm not tuned into?

Why wouldn't you play one because they'd be fun to role play? Big, tough, and probably misunderstood by both orcs and humans. Still, they can often mingle with both, and have keen insights into both.

A half orc good guy might well be able to penetrate enemy lines as its conceivable that a half orc might be a "force of darkness"; a human barbarian wouldn't be able to do that.

... because there are people out there -- even D&D players -- who are more into roleplaying than in designing characters for maximum tactical advantage.

Quote from: Lynn;811392Why wouldn't you play one because they'd be fun to role play? Big, tough, and probably misunderstood by both orcs and humans. Still, they can often mingle with both, and have keen insights into both.

Big and tough could also just be a large Human warrior/barbarian... or a straight up Orc (overlooking the 'all orcs are evil' element)... but the other part makes sense to me, as a motivation to play a loner PC trying to find his way in a world that doesn't want him.
Still, I'm thinking that the other comments here are right, that it's basically a way to play a 'good' orc without contradicting the implied D&D setting.

Players could pick Orc as a race in 3.5, yes?