Quintessential Half-Orc, The

At their core, half-orcs raised by humans are not as different as those taken in by an orcish tribe even if their outward demeanor is completely different. A runt raised by orcs learns to endure the physical abuse of other orcs his age, just like a bastard child must endure the psychological and emotional torture of growing up in human society; orcish snaketongues know themselves smarter than their peers and worm their way around obstacles all the while human bully banes use their superior strength to endear themselves to the weak, whom they defend with a mixture of altruism and a need to feel appreciated. Even those rare half-orcs who grow up without ties to either society or as a result of both have the same core of rage, shame and resentment that makes up most of a half-orc’s mindset.

Half-orcs mix either the best or the worst of their parent races, for savagery and cruelty are not exclusive to orcs. While growing up, half-orcs feel the effects of such an explosive mixture of orcish ferocity and human cunning; more than half-elves who have the human spirit firing up their elven sensibilities, it is human temperance that keeps the orcish side from lashing out, always latent in the half-orc’s heart as a core of anger and violence.

With the help of this sourcebook, any character choosing the half-orc race will find many alternatives of growth for any class the character follows beyond the stereotypical barbarian. With character concepts, half-orc characters can now possess a more detailed background and personal history that takes into account the difference of being raised by either parent race and adaptable to any campaign setting. Prestige classes offer half-orcs roads that exploit their inherent ferocity even if they choose the path of the paladin. New feats will expand the ways in which half-orcs use the furnace burning in their very souls to power combat, physical and even magical actions. New weapons, armor and equipment combine orcish brutality with human ingenuity. Half-orcs learn tricks by which they use their strength to accomplish astounding deeds, and use ritual scarring as a way to gain recognition and self-esteem. Unusual environments create slight variations on a half-orc’s innate abilities, and their own breed of magic exploits their combined heritage of orcish toughness and ferocity and human adaptability and spirituality.

Half-orcs wage a daily struggle for recognition outside and self-control inside, tapping into the best and worst aspects of their parent races to create unique individuals, quite capable of becoming the greatest of heroes or the foulest villains.