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| Bubba Ho-Tep |
 Posted: Wed Jan 16, 2008 1:00 pm Post subject: |
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Location: Frankfort, Kentucky
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I can only say that when I first read the title of this thread I thought of my dog.  |
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| The Gremlin |
| Posted: Wed Jan 16, 2008 3:52 pm Post subject: |
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Location: Corvallis, Oregon
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NO!!! Bad half-orc! Bad! No supper tonight! Stupid half-orc!!!
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| Bubba Ho-Tep |
| Posted: Thu Jan 17, 2008 7:13 am Post subject: |
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| I was thinking more along the lines of nuetering. |
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| The Gremlin |
| Posted: Thu Jan 17, 2008 8:07 am Post subject: |
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Location: Corvallis, Oregon
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I know. And now I've got all these little half-orcs running around...
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| hedgeknight |
| Posted: Thu Jan 17, 2008 6:43 pm Post subject: |
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I think one of the fallacies of half-orcs in general is that they are backward and stupid; it's the same with Orcs.
Just because Tolkien wrote them to be nothing more than grunts and slavering animals, doesn't mean they have to be that way in D&D. In fact, I treat them the same as humans - some are intelligent, some are not; some are leaders, some are grunts.
I'm never thought of half-orcs as cannon fodder and simple "smash and bash" characters. Nor, do I always think of them as "evil" villains or NPCs. They are smart, strong, and influential on my game - I love to use them and I love when players run them.
-g- |
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| Bubba Ho-Tep |
| Posted: Fri Jan 18, 2008 5:33 am Post subject: |
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| Kinda the same approach Privateer Press took with Trolls. |
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| kristian_h |
| Posted: Fri Jan 18, 2008 6:07 am Post subject: |
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Joined: 03 Jan 2008
Posts: 7
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| bubbagump wrote: |
| The Gremlin wrote: |
| bubbagump wrote: |
| ...Half-orcs, of course, were intended to be the antithesis of half-elves... |
Um, I think you're getting them mixed up. Tolkien had half-orcs, and half-elves were added as the 'antithesis' of them. |
Actually Elrond, leader of Rivendell, is a half-elf - the only one in all of Middle Earth. Tolkien even made a semi-big deal out of his ancestry in The Fellowship of the Ring and elsewhere. |
Ahem, that is not exactely correct, his brother Elros shared the same heritage. But, given the choice by the valar, Elros chose to be counted as a human and Elrond chose to be counted as an Elf. Elros then became mortal and had a finite, although very long lifespan while Elrond became immortal like the Elves.
Elros became the first king of Numenor. |
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| bubbagump |
| Posted: Fri Jan 18, 2008 7:13 am Post subject: |
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Nitpicker! *grumble, grumble* 
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100% Greyhawk grognard and proud of it. Now, all you kids get off my lawn! |
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| tiger_tim_gamer |
| Posted: Thu Jul 03, 2008 10:06 am Post subject: |
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I love halforcs. They are my favorite character race. While I don't thinkg they are unbalanced, I would be more than happy to take any bonus that a GM who feels they are is willing to give me.  |
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| RedDragon |
| Posted: Tue Jul 08, 2008 10:19 am Post subject: |
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| half-orcs in my homebrew world tend to be nomads that the great merchant houses use as go betweens and mercenaries. In order to bring them more in line with everybody else I gave them the tracking feat. I only have one half-orc player at the monent, and he's been lobbying for a skill bonus to Survival. Frankly he'll probably get it. |
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| Amy Carrier |
| Posted: Mon Nov 17, 2008 2:11 pm Post subject: |
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Well, I'm not sure this really helps anyone, but here it is...
Within the context of my campaign, all "half-X" characters are produced only by a crossing the two original parent types. In other words, there is no actual "race" of half orcs in my world, just the children of orc-human matings. If such "half-X" characters manage to have kids of their own, the children will favor one of the ancestral races over the other:
half-orc x human = human
half-orc x elf = elf
half-orc x dwarf (like this is ever going to happen!) = dwarf
half-orc x orc = orc
half-orc x half-orc = human or orc (50% chance of either)
half-orc x something else = probably nothing; some matings just aren't fertile.
The second generation offspring usually have some hint of their mixed ancestory, but only in appearance - nothing that requires adjusting their game stats. Humans with a touch of orc in their blood may have unusually coarse hair, and orcs with some human "contamination" may have unusually smooth skin, but that's about it. |
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| Wolfgang |
| Posted: Mon Nov 17, 2008 5:25 pm Post subject: |
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Kobold Overlord
Joined: 30 Dec 2007
Posts: 5010
Location: The Mines
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I'm not a fan of half-races in my own homebrew games, but I really like that approach. Sort of treats the half-orc like a mule.
Well, if mules weren't sterile...
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| Aeolius |
| Posted: Tue Nov 18, 2008 9:45 am Post subject: |
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| Wolfgang wrote: |
| I'm not a fan of half-races in my own homebrew games, but I really like that approach. Sort of treats the half-orc like a mule. Well, if mules weren't sterile... |
"You are a very troublesome little fellow. I think I should teach you one of my special lessons? What do you think, Robert? Benson? What would look nice? Half-warthog? Half-donkey? Half-oyster? Half-carrot?" - Time Bandits
I, on the other hand, enjoy the complete chaos caused by half-beasties; half-dragons, half-fey, half-troll, half-ogre, half-fiend, half-celestial, half-illithid, half-vampire, and of course my half-hags.
It is the offspring of the half-hag that is nearly sterile, in my games, as I based the majority of my hag lore on Nigel Findley's "Ecology of the Greenhag" in DRAGON #125. |
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| CharlesMarkley |
| Posted: Wed Nov 19, 2008 11:08 am Post subject: Re: Fixing the half-orc |
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Joined: 03 Jan 2008
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In my seven years of gaming, I've only played with one half-orc character, and I've never had anyone ever play one in a game that I've DM'd.
In my house rules, I give +2 racial bonuses to Intimidate and Survival skills for half-orcs. |
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| Aeolius |
| Posted: Wed Nov 19, 2008 11:25 am Post subject: Re: Fixing the half-orc |
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| CharlesMarkley wrote: |
| In my seven years of gaming, I've only played with one half-orc character, and I've never had anyone ever play one in a game that I've DM'd. |
My first 3e PC was Nok, a half-orc bard with skills as a chef and taxidermist. |
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