Assuming the half-orc of Alpha 1 survives unscathed without more modification...astute designers should consider the impact these guys will have on orc culture.
Everyone's seen that half-orcs are suddenly great as clerics. They are also now suited for play as sorcerers. Big power shift for the orc culture.
What do I mean?
Your typical orc from the MM has a Will save of -2. Half-orcs with Charm Person and Dominate Person will rule the orcish world.
As an aside, I strongly encourage you to leave your pureblooded orcs as they are written in the MM. They are D&D's archetypal brute monster. Strong but stupid. If you do change anything, give them another physical boost (+2 Con) but leave them mentally backwards. Because that's what orcs are all about.
I've always liked Half-Orc or Orc Wizards/Sorcerors.
I was heavily influenced by Guldan from Warcraft II.
Personally, I would prefer to see a lot more done with Orcs. They don't need to have their stats changed overmuch (or, at least, the proportions), but they need more flavor... their current write-ups are mechanically uninteresting, as were the previous half-orcs.
Everyone's seen that half-orcs are suddenly great as clerics. They are also now suited for play as sorcerers. Big power shift for the orc culture.
They also make great Rangers now.
They also make great Rangers now.Druids and Paladins too.
And monks. And inevitably, someone who puts these changes into their 3.5 campaign is going to have someone wanting to play a half-orc monk with Vow of Poverty.
|
And monks. And inevitably, someone who puts these changes into their 3.5 campaign is going to have someone wanting to play a half-orc monk with Vow of Poverty.They also make great Rangers now.Druids and Paladins too.
With a Strength bonus and a Wisdom bonus, along with a penalty to the one stat that monks really don't care about, half-orcs are now hands-down the best monk race - even humans and half-elves can't compete. And honestly, that makes me happy - somebody should get to be good at being a monk...
|
|
Halflings always made the best monks. The die size for damage always outweighed the puny -2 str they suffered.
Plus no heavy weapons to encumber their carrying capacity!
There is another thread where the bonus to wisdom was discussed as well, and some of us thought that a +2 charisma made more sense in the long run for the race.
|
With a Strength bonus and a Wisdom bonus, along with a penalty to the one stat that monks really don't care about, half-orcs are now hands-down the best monk race - even humans and half-elves can't compete. And honestly, that makes me happy - somebody should get to be good at being a monk...And monks. And inevitably, someone who puts these changes into their 3.5 campaign is going to have someone wanting to play a half-orc monk with Vow of Poverty.They also make great Rangers now.Druids and Paladins too.
Hmmm... I think Half-Orcs will be *the* race of choice for melee-optimized clerics, too. And I don't really like that -- it would make more sense to give them bonuses to STR and CON than STR and WIS.
And monks. And inevitably, someone who puts these changes into their 3.5 campaign is going to have someone wanting to play a half-orc monk with Vow of Poverty.They also make great Rangers now.Druids and Paladins too.
Now, now. Everybody likes to pick on Vow of Poverty. Yes, it is easy to do... But Vow of Poverty is kind of like a loaded gun. Dangerous to leave lying around, but perfectly fine in some peoples hands.
Hmmm... I think Half-Orcs will be *the* race of choice for melee-optimized clerics, too. And I don't really like that -- it would make more sense to give them bonuses to STR and CON than STR and WIS.
Would it make you feel better to know that I used Half Orcs for melee optimized Clerics before this change?
And Half Orcs should not get a +2 to Strength and Constitution. You would (almost) never see a warrior class of any other race.
Vow of Poverty doesn’t exist in the Pathfinder world. That’s the nice part about OGL; not having to design around 100 different broken rules.
I love the change.It makes since they would be good at such things to me they needed something pathfinder eberron just became alot more fun.
RPG Superstar 2009 Top 32
|
Unless i am absolutely mistaken, its more a feature than a bug. Half-Orcs are actually bred by the orc tribes to fill positions of leadership. Not quite on the top of the totem pole, of course, but as sergeants and other middle-tier officers.
They simply are smarter, more creative and more charismatic than actual orcs, and the orcs know it ;)
|
|
Just adding my two bits on how much I like the Pathfinder half-orcs; the WotC half-orc just didn't seem to suit the description of them, especially considering that most half-orcs were assumed to have been raised by their human parent. With less mental deficiency, and therefore more appropriate for the "leaders of orc-kind" image, I have to say "kudos!" to the changes.
In response to the previous discussion on how much better a half-orc monk would be now (which I always thought they were pretty well geared for them ... the orphan-raised-by-a-monastery concept), what does anyone else think of the idea of half-orcs having 2 different favoured classes, depending upon which parent raised them? Barbarian for orc-raising, or monk for being raised in human lands (from the self-discipline required to hold their savage nature in check).
I'm glad they got rid of the Charisma negative. It always bothered me that the most racially intimidating character suffered a deficiency in the stat governing the Intimidate skill. Not kosher.
This is a change that is far and away for the better, IMHO.
I would have kept the Cha-penalty, but scraped the Int-penalty.
Humans get +1 skill (point) at first level, because they learn quickly.
Half-Elves get the same +1 skill (point) at first level, because they also learn quickly because of their human heiritage.
Half-orcs get -1 skill (point) because of their low Int, despite having the learning-boosting human heiritage.
That -2 skill (points) compared to other human and half-human races.
Remove the Int-penalty, and it's not that severe. But I don't see half-orcs as great orators or particulary great leaders with the ability to motivate their underlings. Also their orcish heiritage makes them having slight tendencies to bullying, so a Cha-penalty would be appropiate. And dwarves do get it, even though I see them generally as far more headstrong than half-orcs.
But I supose there are a lot of possible interpretations of this.
Also, orcs aren't really that dumb. When 10 is an average score for humans, the range from 8 to 12 would probably still be normal for humans. So a -2 penalty places the average orc simply at the lower end of what's common for humans. And not to forget that for every Int 14 and 16 human, there's an Int 12 and 14 orc.
Neithan man half elves don't get a free skill they get to add a non class skill to there class skill list but still must pay for it.