I recently had a player who wanted to make Olman warrior, but wanted him to be a half orc (mostly I think for the strength bonus). The player is just joining the campaign, so didn't realize that there are no orcs or anything especially close to an orc on the island that would make a half breed.
I started thinking things over and came up with an idea for a new race that would have racial stats very similar to a half orc, but would have a much different flavour. I call it the death touched. Here's the idea: they are usually the offspring of Olman zombie masters, and are essentially humans that have been tainted by the necromantic energies that infuse the bodies of the zombie masters. They have a slightly undead look about them (yet they are still living humanoids), and suffer penalties to their Cha and Int. However they are quite strong and get the +2 to Str. They also gain darkvision, as part of their undeadesque nature. They may also get a +2 bonus to saves vrs. poison. The deathtouched are capable of reproducing like humans but are forbidden by their people to do so because of the their unnatural blood. Sometimes deathtouched mate with other deathtouched to produce deathtouched offspring, but as a race they are very infertile, so it is very hard for them to reproduce with one another. They live among the Olmans and make great warriors, but they are generally shunned and feared by their fellow Olmans. The Olmans essentially see them as being diseased. However, the zombie masters think that they are a blessing from the spirits/gods and hold them in high regard. They may even have some kind of special deathtouched village, where they train to become elite warriors that can be called upon when needed by the Olman people, but at the same time they are removed from Olman society where their offensive unnatural nature won't bother the humans.
At this point I'm not sure if I'll use this idea, but if anyone has any thoughts or input I'd like to hear from you.
Sounds good. There was also a article on 1/2 undead templates in Dragon some time ago, with half zombie template stats which you may find interesting. I'll see if I can dig up the ish #.