Orcs and Half-Orcs Revised

Orcs in 5th Edition leave a lot to be desired and only allow for a very narrow character concept, these new options for orc and half-orc characters should help any player or DM play an orc character with a complex and rich background and culture.

Orc Traits

Your orc character has the following racial traits.

Ability Score Increase. Your Strength score increases by 2.

Age. Orcs reach adulthood at age 12 and live up to 50 years.

Alignment. Orcs are vicious and most believe that the world should be theirs. They also respect strength above all else and believe the strong must bully the weak to ensure that weakness does not spread like a disease. They are usually chaotic evil.

Size. Orcs are usually over 6 feet tall and weigh between 230 and 280 pounds. Your size is Medium.

Speed. Your base walking speed is 30 feet.

Darkvision. You can see in dim light within 60 feet of you as if it were bright light, and in darkness as if it were dim light. You can't discern color in darkness, only shades of gray.

Aggressive. As a bonus action, you can move up to your speed toward an enemy of your choice that you can see or hear. You must end this move closer to the enemy than you started.

Menacing. You are trained in the Intimidation skill.

Relentless Endurance. When you are reduced to 0 hit points but not killed outright, you can drop to 1 hit point instead. You can't use this feature again until you finish a long rest

Languages. You can speak, read, and write Common and Orc.

Subrace. Orcs have evolved into four subraces: battle orcs, gray orcs, mountain orcs, and scorched orcs. Choose one of these subraces.

Battle Orc

Battle Orcs are native to the infinite plane of war, and are associated with one of three creeds. Each battle orc's outlook and characteristics are based on their creed:

• Creed of Terror followers believe in striking fear and hopelessness into their foes.

• Creed of Cold Death followers believe in slowing down their oppoents and draining the fight right out of them.

• Creed of the Horde followers believe in the strength of the many over the strength of the individual, and spread their martial prowess to their comrades.

Ability Score Increase. Your Intelligence score increases by 1.

Battle Trance. As a bonus action, you can magically activate your blood and go into a battle trance, giving you +2 to all weapon attacks for 1 minute. Once you use this trait, you can't do so again until you finish a short or long rest.

When you reach 3rd level, your Battle Trance gains an additional effect based on your creed; if the effect requires a saving throw, the DC equals 8 + your proficiency bonus + your Intelligence modifier. The effects are as follows:

• Creed of Terror. When you activate your Battle Trance, one creature of your choice that you can see within 5 feet of you before you must succeed on a Wisdom saving throw or be frightened of you until the end of your next turn.

• Creed of Cold Death. Immediately when your Battle Trance ends, each creature of your choice that you can see within 5 feet of you takes cold damage equal to your proficiency bonus.

• Creed of the Horde. When you use your Battle Trance, you can touch one willing creature within 5 feet of you. That creature then gains the benefits of your Battle Trance instead of you for 1 minute.

Credit: nkabuto

Gray Orc

The orcs of the eastern lands are much smaller in number and scattered through the various lands that lie between the boundaries of civilized lands. A gray orc looks less bestial than their more savage northern kin, but is still obviously nonhuman. They are somewhat hairy, with long manes of bristly hair on their heads, shoulders, and backs. They have yellow, orange, or red eyes and black or gray hair. Gray orcs are more apt to wear "civilized" clothing than mountain orcs, and prefer varying shades of brown, black, blue, and other dark colors. Skin tones are usually gray with mottled patches of lighter or darker gray on the chest.

Ability Score Increase. Your Wisdom score increases by 1.

Large Gait. Your base walking speed increases to 35 feet.

Gray Orc Weapons Training. You have proficiency with the greataxe, javelin, and longbow.

Mountain Orc

A mountain orc is quite obviously a monstrous creature to most of the civilized folk. Mountain orcs look vaguely like primitive humans. They have stocky, powerful necks, and their bestial heads seem to sit directly on their massive shoulders. Their eyes are always a deep shade of red, and their faces are dominated by porcine snouts and large tusks. Mountain orcs often weave braids and tiny bones into their thick matted hair, which is usually black. They delight in decorating their bodies with scars and warpaint composed of unpleasant colors like blood red, mustard yellow, and yellow-green.

Ability Score Increase. Your Constitution score increases by 1.

Orc Weapons Training. You have proficiency with the greataxe, javelin, spear, and battleaxe.

Child of the Mountain. You have a climbing speed of 30 feet, and you are acclimated to high altitudes, including elevations above 20,000 feet.

Scorched Orc

Fiery and fierce orcs of the desert or volcanic lands, with dark charcoal-like skin and fiery hair and eyes of yellow, orange, and red.

Ability Score Increase. Your Dexterity score increases by 1.

Orc Weapons Training. You have proficiency with the greataxe, javelin, spear, and battleaxe.

Fire Walker. You have resistance to fire damage. Additionally, you can speak, read, and write Ignan.

Half-Orc Traits

Your half-orc character has the following racial traits.

Ability Score Increase. Your Constitution score increases by 2, and two other ability scores of your choice increase by 1.

Age. Half-orcs mature a tittle faster than humans, reaching adulthood around age 14. They age noticeably faster and rarely tive longer than 75 years.

Alignment. Half-orcs inherit a tendency toward chaos from their ore parents and are not strongly inclined toward good. Half-orcs raised among orcs and will usually to tive out their tives among them are usually evil.

Size. Half-orcs are somewhat larger and bulkier than humans, and they range from 5 to well over 6 feet tall. Your size is Medium.

Speed. Your base walking speed is 30 feet.

Darkvision. Thanks to your orc blood. you have superior vision in dark and dim conditions. You can see in dim light within 60 feet of you as if it were bright light and in darkness as if it were dim light. You can't discern color in darkness, only shades of gray.

Menacing. You gain proficieney in the Intimidation skill.

Relentless Endurance. When you are reduced to 0 hit points but not killed outright, you can drop to 1 hit point instead. You can't use this feature again unti! you finish a long rest.

Savage Attacks. When you score a criticaI hit with a melee weapon attack, you can roll one of the weapon's damage dice one additional time and add it to the extra damage of the criticaI hit.

Languages. You can speak. read, and write Common and Orc. Orc is a harsh. grating language with hard consonants. It has no script of its own but is written in the Dwarvish script.