Copyright 2009 Wizards of the Coast

Half-Orcs have been in the game since the days of AD&D, where they appeared as a playable option in the Player’s Handbook. Historically, they were one of the first “edgy” options for players, but they’ve always been a bit controversial and surrounded by Unfortunate Implications. The main one being that most versions of them implied that there was only one very unpleasant way in which an orc and a human could have a child.

In more recent years, several different solutions to this have been proposed. Some remove half-orcs from the game, others say they’re full orcs and that’s what a full orc looks like. Fourth Edition went with a third common option, which is to diversify the origins of half-orcs.

They appear as a playable option in the PHB 2, and have their NPC/enemy-style entries here.

The Lore

Half-Orcs as a people tend to combine the daring and ambition of humans with the strength and ferocity of orcs. Their build and features are orcish, but their hair and skin tones resemble those of humans rather than the greens and blues this edition uses for orcs.

Half-orcs are as numerous as any other people without “half-“ in their name. They have their own communities and cultures, and also live in more cosmopolitan settlements along with other sapients. You could play a half-orc who has neither humans nor orcs anywhere in their family tree, or at least none in living memory. In fact, they’ve been around in this state for so long that no one knows their true origins.

There are several competing theories. A more mythical version says that they arose when Gruumsh lost his eye and his spilled blood hit the world. Another myth says Kord created them by copying the best elements from his two favorite species. Others say they started out as a super-soldier experiment by an evil wizard, or when human and orc barbarian tribes joined in alliance in ancient times. Another still says they were engineered by the ancient goblin empire to act as orc wranglers.

And of course, you can still have a half-orc who’s the product of a happy marriage between a human and an orc. If you really want to you could also make a half-orc PC with the classic “Unfortunate” origin, but now it’s no longer exclusive to them. If you really want to play an edgy character, there are better options around these days.

Another thing that has been removed this edition is the “caught between two worlds, hated by both” cliche that used to plague both half-elves and half-orcs. And to that I say good riddance.

The Numbers

NPC Half-Orcs have the same signature traits as their playable version: low-light vision, a +2 bonus to speed when charging, and the Furious Assault encounter power. This can be used as a free action right after the half-orc hits an enemy, and increases the damage of the attack by 1d10. It’s a bit better than the PC version, which only increases it by 1d8.

Half-Orc Hunter

A ranger-type who really likes to jump into melee combat, fighting in a reckless manner. Wearing light armor, they carry a battleaxe and a longbow into combat.

The axe and the bow are basic attacks, and Evasive Chop allows the hunter to shift 1 square before making an axe attack. Draw First Blood is a passive trait that increases their damage against any enemy who hasn’t yet taken damage in this fight. Combining it with Furious Assault makes for a good “alpha strike”.

Half-Orc Death Mage

The death mage is more of a priest-type, serving an exarch of Gruumsh named Yurtrus. Yurtrus presides over disease, misery, and death, so their magic follows the same themes. Death Mages are always Evil, unlike the others here who are presented as Unaligned. They wear robes and carry quarterstaffs that work more as implements than as weapons.

Though they can attack with that staff, their main melee attack is a rotting touch that targets Fortitude and does both immediate and ongoing necrotic damage (save ends). The touch also strips any necrotic resistance or immunity the target might have! This opens it up to necrotic attacks from others, and allows that ongoing damage to have an effect. Saving against the damage also ends this condition.

At range, they can shoot Bolts of Putrescence vs. Reflex that deal physical damage and inflict a -5 penalty to all the target’s defenses for a turn. Their area attack is a Swarm of Flies that deals physical damage and creates a zone over the affected area. Anyone caught inside takes damage from fly bites, and has their visibility restricted to 3 squares. The death mage can move the zone 2 squares as a minor action.

The death mage has the racial Furious Assault power, and it’s worth remembering that it can enhance any attack, not just physical ones. Its final power is Death Mark, which automatically deals heavy physical damage to whoever reduces the mage to 0 HP.

Half-Orc Scarthane

Scarthanes are veteran warriors that eschew armor and proudly display the tapestry of scars covering their skin. The more wounded they are, the more dangerous they become, and either ferocity or blood magic allows them to keep fighting even through all those wounds.

A Scarthane is a Level 7 Brute with 96 HP, wielding a greataxe and fighting unarmored. The axe is a High-Crit weapon, and they’re limited to basic attacks and Furious Assault at first.

When the scarthane hits a bloodied target, Blood for Blood makes the attack deal +1d6 damage and heals them for 5 HP.

Once the scarthane becomes bloodied, Wounded Retaliation allows them to make a basic attack against whoever bloodied them. They also gain Bloodfury Attack, an axe attack that lacks the High-Crit property but deals more base damage and heals the scarthane for 10 HP when it hits. This does stack with Blood for Blood!

Sample Encounters and Final Impressions

Half-orcs can be found among humans, orcs, or other creatures that associate with them. They can easily be reskinned by replacing their signature traits with those of the target species.

The sample encounters are:

  • Level 6: 2 half-orc hunters, 1 human hexer, 4 human berserkers. A barbarian hunting party.

  • Level 9: 4 scarthanes, 1 orc chieftain, 1 orc eye of Gruumsh. The scarthanes make an excellent honor guard.