Are there any sourcebooks that reinvent/reimagine Orcs out there? I'm looking for some inspiration for Sarunia. One of the key things I'm doing with the world is making Orcs a more magical race and instead of the normal elf/orc enmity, elves trace their roots to Orcs.
Are there any sourcebooks that reinvent/reimagine Orcs out there? I'm looking for some inspiration for Sarunia. One of the key things I'm doing with the world is making Orcs a more magical race and instead of the normal elf/orc enmity, elves trace their roots to Orcs.
You might look into Wrath & Rage from Green Ronin, though I don't know if it's exactly what you are looking for.
Are there any sourcebooks that reinvent/reimagine Orcs out there? I'm looking for some inspiration for Sarunia. One of the key things I'm doing with the world is making Orcs a more magical race and instead of the normal elf/orc enmity, elves trace their roots to Orcs.
TAD, give this a look.
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You might look into Wrath & Rage from Green Ronin, though I don't know if it's exactly what you are looking for.
That was the one with the feat based on vomiting on people, right? It may actually be a great book, it's just that one look-through has really colored my perception of the book, possibly unfairly.
There's another book, Bastards & Bloodlines that covered the standard half-races along with others. While there may not be much specifically about orcs in there, there may be more options for half-orc races of varying other-half-races, including orc/elves.
Are there any sourcebooks that reinvent/reimagine Orcs out there? I'm looking for some inspiration for Sarunia. One of the key things I'm doing with the world is making Orcs a more magical race and instead of the normal elf/orc enmity, elves trace their roots to Orcs.
Have you ever checked out Eberron? Orcs in that setting are generally druidic/shamanistic types that are actually safeguarding the world against unnatural abominations(and the elves are generally warlike, undead, or warlike and undead).
Just a bit of crazy here, but:
You might also want to check out Fury in the Wastelands: the Orcs of Tellene from Kenzer. Perhaps not exactly the take on orcs you're looking for, but there are a lot of great ideas and concepts.
Regards,
AJC
Just a bit of crazy here, but:** spoiler omitted **
Didn't they do something like that in Warhammer?
Also, looking forward to your version of Orcs, TAD. Mine are a mix of Polyesian and Western culture. Lots of tattoos, bodypainting, ceremonial chants before combat and mild cannibalism afterwards.
Search under the monster name 'deodanth'. I remember from the Arduin books they were some form of distant descendent of elves and other races, who had returned from the far future. They were mostly known for their cruelty, but some of their flavor may work.
I did a quick search and there looks like some sites covering them, but I can't check from work.
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Skragg, City of Orcs is a decent 3.0 release from Mongoose. Mongoose also had a Half-Orc sourcebook that was part of their Quintessential series.
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Wrath & Rage offers up multiple variations;
The Savage Horde - chaotic evil, advance as creatures, not through class levels, with the higher HD orcs being size Large or even Huge!
The Created - like Middle-Earth's orcs, they were created, perhaps as soldiers by a wizard, or as the servants of an angry warlike god. Offers up the concept that they could have an adaptive biology, so that as they are exposed to certain forces, they develop a resistance, which is passed on to their offspring (kind of like Borg, but taking a generation for the new resistance to manifest, so that a kingdom might wipe out an orc invasion via a plague, but find that the next generation is resistant to that tactic).
The Betrayed - following Roger Moore's story that the gods diced for lands for their creation, and left nothing for the Orcs, the orcs either have been, or perceive themselves as having been, cheated out of their destiny or place in the world, and nurture an unending righteous hate of the race(s) that 'betrayed' them. Every Orc would have favored enemy X (and different tribes might focus on different local betrayers).
The Cancer - a blight upon the land, they spring up like weeds, possibly even boiling up from the earth in a form of spontaneous generation of life (or, in this case, of hate).
The Conquerors - more like 3e depictions of Hobgoblins, these orcs are more lawful hordes that sweep across nations, bringing them down, like the followers of Genghis Khan with a dash of Imperial Rome.
In GURPS, Orcs are said to be more prone to mutation than other species, and at least one write-up gave them a racial advantange 'to be determined later' based on their tribe. One might have thicker skin (+1 NA), another darkvision, another scent, another over-sized fangs and a bite attack, etc. Like the Beholders of the Spelljammer setting, different tribes of Orcs might even regard each other as completely different species. Then again, perhaps they integrate well, with orcish armies dividing soldiers up into special squads based on their unique characteristics (trackers, to the front!).
Another Wrath & Rage-ish concept (and playing off of the Greyhawk setting somewhat, where Scarlet Brotherhood 'monster-makers' crossbreed them with apes to make a slave-species) is that Orcs represent an alternate branch of human evolution, more 'cro-magnon' and savage, and that some Orcish children might spontaneously be evolved (1/2 Orcs), really evolved (human in appearance) or devolved (more ape-like and powerful).
To go sideways off of that, there's a theory that neanderthals were smarter than cro-magnons, but got beat out anyway by their stronger and more vicious neighbors, and an even whackier out-there theory that they might have been psychic. In a fantasy world, it could be fun to run with that bit of whackiness and have Orcs as a species be kind of like a mix of cro-magnon (hulking ape-strong humanoids) led by 'shamen' who are thinner, but possessed of psionic powers. The power dynamic could vary as well. Perhaps the rare physically less potent but psionically active 'orcs' are dominated ruthlessly by their stronger and more numerous kin, and forbidden to interact with each other in any meaningful way (as the brutes are smart enough to realize how dangerous they would be if they could ever organize or coordinate), kept 'leashed' to 'handlers,' and forced to use their psionic abilities to track others, spy on rivals, attract prey, etc. It could vary based on region, as well. The orc 'kingdom' might have a ruling caste of these 'philospher-priests,' who just as ruthlessly keep the strongest of their kin dominated to serve them as bodyguards, oppressing their brutish kinfolk and sending them off on endless wars, to thin out their numbers and keep them from turning against their tiny ruling class. Smaller tribes might have only a single such adept, and keep him locked in a cage, only releasing him when they need his abilities to find prey or counter the 'witchcraft' of other races.
Given their passionate and tribal natures, the orcish psionic adepts would have powers related to emotional manipulation (driving their allies into a rage, confusing foes, inspiring fear) and other more brutish applications, and not be particularly refined (often being forced to develop their arts on their own, with no heirarchy or training).
The ultimate orc warlord, a 'messiah' in the flesh, would be one that combines the physical superiority of the brutes with the psionic powers of the adepts, being able to crush his foes both with force of arms and psychic might. Naturally, this paragon will turn out to be a big fat phony (some sort of shapeshifter, or a psychic adept who uses half-fiendish / draconic heritage to emulate the strength of the brute cast, or something), and the PCs have to unmask him to stop him from assembling the many fractious tribes in an unstoppable army.
Are there any sourcebooks that reinvent/reimagine Orcs out there? I'm looking for some inspiration for Sarunia. One of the key things I'm doing with the world is making Orcs a more magical race and instead of the normal elf/orc enmity, elves trace their roots to Orcs.
I can think of a few things...
In Tolkien, the orcs were the result of Morgoth torturing and experimenting with the elves. Not a lot useful there, but it gives an idea of how they could come to be.
A good trilogy to read with a very different take on orcs would be the Orc Queen trilogy by Morgan Howell (a psedonym of the author, I believe). link. The worship what appears to be a great earth mother goddess.
Finally, I would suggest checking out the Orcs series by Stan Nichols. link In this series they are the typical warriors but the main character has visions/dreams of some sort of fabled promised land in which he interacts with a female orc who seems to be a spirit guide/messenger of some sort. The orcs live in a world where the humans are destroying the world's connections to magic and it has an effect upon the magical nature of the inhabitants (such as orcs and goblins) of the world.
I hope this is helpful to someone out there. :)