# All the Different Types of Orcs



## X-Calator (Jun 19, 2003)

After the great success of all the classic demihuman races, I thought it might be fun to get to know the more diverse (or grotesque) races of the multiverse. This time, orcs are in the limelight!


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## BOZ (Jun 19, 2003)

hmm, well of course there are the orog and ogrillon half-breeds...

there is also a breed called the Ondonti from Ruins of Zhentil Keep...

and a breed of assassin swamp-orcs called the Jor (in the CC!)


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## Krishnath (Jun 19, 2003)

And then there are the grey orcs (from faerûn)

And the Uruk-Hai (from middle earth)

Of course, then there is also the common orc, and the half-orc.


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## Filby (Jun 19, 2003)

Here we go.

Birthright:
- Cerillian Orog: Not really orcs (there are none on Aebrynis) but similar enough to warrant a mention. Similar to apes in appearance. Inhabitants of the caves beneath Cerillia. Though they share the Faerunian Orogs' name and habitat, the similarity pretty much ends there.

Dark Sun:
- Athasian Orc: Extinct.

Dragonlance:
- There are no orcs native to Krynn.

Forgotten Realms:
- Deep Orcs: aka Orogs. No connection to half-ogre orogs. See 'Races of Faerun'.
- Gray Orcs: See 'Races of Faerun'.
- Mountain Orcs: Basic MM orcs.
- Neo-Orogs: Enhanced orogs created by the Zhentarim. Two varieties: red warriors and black spies.
- Ondonti: LG orcs created by the goddess Eldath. Some captured and trained as assassins by the Zhentarim.
- Viperhand Orcs: The orcs of Maztica, created along with Viperhand ogres and trolls just over a decade ago by the god Zaltec from evil humans.
- Zakharan Orcs: Just as civilized as any other race in Zakhara.
- Half-orcs, orogs, and ogrillons can also be found on Toril.

Mystara:
With excerpts from 'Orcs of Thar' in quotation marks...
- Common Orc: "The most common of them all, the orcs come in many sub-races. They can be found in most regions of the D&D game Known World. They usually are slightly larger than a normal man, their faces bearing some obvious beastly traits." The Common Orc ethnic groups:
-- Orcus Porcus: "Definitely most common, with obvious porcine features. Pink, brown, black, or greenish-grey skin, sometimes with spots. Any color and length of hair arranged in any style imaginable. Tribal members identified by their smell. Wear anything shabby and filthy."
-- Orcus Hyborianus: "Northern reaches' breed with sickly white or light grey skin. Wear various furs. Can be found in some glaciers in high mountains."
-- Orcus Imperator Rex: "Porcine features less obvious allowing them to pass for really ugly humans. Prefer black or dark grey hooded cloaks. Copper skin, smaller snout. Psychotics and megalomaniacs believing other orcs to be inferiors. Some found in Orcus Rex territory (Broken Lands)."
-- Robrenn Orc: Orcs living on the plateaus north of the kingdom of Robrenn on the Savage Coast.
-- Yazak Orc: The orcs of the Savage Coast, from the northern Yazak Steppes.
- Kruegel Orc: An obscure orc subrace now found only in the Hollow World. Rounder forehead and higher intelligence than other orcs.
- Red Orc: "This is a sub-race of the orcs, recognizable by their generally red hides and simian features. Red orcs are about the size of a human, with small round ears." The Red Orc ethnic groups:
-- Orcus Rubeus Vulgaris: "Very short hair if any, brick-red to reddish brown. Simian features emulating many of the various monkey faces found in nature. Usually wear mismatched armor pieces, preferring chain mail and great helms. Southern Red Orcland natives (Broken Lands)."
-- Orcus Simius Terribilis: "Long, shaggy hair, bright orange to dull red. Much more muscular and aggressive than the _Vulgaris_. Favor black, studded leather armor and hoods. Natives of southern Red Orcland (Broken Lands)."
- Yellow Orc: "Another sub-race of the orcs, identifiable by their dull yellow hides. Come with ugly rat or pekingese faces. They are about human size, with pointed ears." The Yellow Orc ethnic groups:
-- Orcus Facies Ratis: "Very short hair, ranging from tan to dull light brown. Longer, pointed snout. Favor black garb with hooded cloak. Nomads of the hills and mountains north of Alfheim."
-- Orcus Canis Oriensis: "Long hair forming a plume on the head, dusty yellow to brown. Pekingese face. Favor mismatched pieces of oriental armor and frightening helms. Nomads of the vast Ethengarian steppes, and of Yellow Orkia (Broken Lands)."
- Half-orcs, orogs, and ogrillons also exist on Mystara, one would assume.

Planescape:
- Planar Orc: Needless to say, far less common than other planar races.

Ravenloft:
- There are no orcs or half-orcs in Ravenloft. Their niche of half-orcs is filled by Calibans (see RL3E).

Spelljammer:
- Orcs and other savage humanoids were once a major power in arcane space. Following their massive defeat in the Unhuman Wars, however, they are now uncommon in space.
- Scro: The descendants of a sect of defeated orcs after the wars, the Scro transformed their culture into a massive war machine. Now they are out for revenge against the Imperial Elven Navy.
- Half-orcs and half-scro, and probably orogs and ogrillons, can also be found in space.

World of Greyhawk:
- Just plain orcs and orc crossbreeds.

Orcs from no particular campaign setting:
- Jor: aka Swamp Orcs. See the Creature Catalog.
- Norke: No connection to norkers. Mountain-dwelling orcs, perhaps with a bit of hobgoblin blood. From Dragon Magazine 158.

Orc crossbreeds:
- Half-orc: See PH.
- Orgrillon: Offspring of a male orc and female ogre. Sterile. See the CC.
- Orog: Offspring of a male ogre and female orc. See the CC.
- Scorpiorc: Scorpion-orcs. See the CC.
- Tanarruk: Orc/demon planetouched. See MoF and RoF.

And there it is.  Anything else? Goblinoids, perhaps?

Edit: Added the Kruegel orcs to Mystara.


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## Knight Otu (Jun 19, 2003)

The tanarukk, which I have not seen mentioned yet, are a race of planetouched orcs, which, I think, bred in Hellgate Keep, on Faerun (Not too sure about it, though).


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## BOZ (Jun 19, 2003)

Filby said:
			
		

> *And there it is.  Anything else? Goblinoids, perhaps? *




it seems lik e next most logical step to me.  


heh heh heh, orcus porcus...


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## BOZ (Jun 19, 2003)

how about everyone's favorite the scorpiorc?


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## Filby (Jun 19, 2003)

Thanks for pointing those out Otu and Boz, I'll add the tanarruks and scorpiorcs to the list.


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## Shade (Jun 19, 2003)

A new version of the orog also appears in Races of Faerun.  They are no longer orc/orges, but are instead orcs that ventured too far into the Underdark, were trapped, and over the ages evolved into something different.


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## Filby (Jun 19, 2003)

Yeah, I know, I listed them as 'Deep Orcs'. They're really not the same thing at all. In fact, 'Faiths & Pantheons' mentions that the orc/ogre Orogs also exist in Faerun, so I listed both of them.


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## Shade (Jun 19, 2003)

Filby said:
			
		

> *Yeah, I know, I listed them as 'Deep Orcs'. They're really not the same thing at all. In fact, 'Faiths & Pantheons' mentions that the orc/ogre Orogs also exist in Faerun, so I listed both of them. *




My apologies.  That will teach me to skim.

Great job, Filby.  These are very thorough.   I'd recommend one on all the planetouched.


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## X-Calator (Jun 20, 2003)

Thanks again, Filby, for your thoroughness, and the rest of you guys for pointing out things, of course. One question, what are the orcs referred to as from Kingdoms of Kalamar?



			
				Krishnath said:
			
		

> *And there it is.  Anything else? Goblinoids, perhaps? *




You guys are practically reading my mind. I was originally going to just do goblins, but goblinoids would entail much more of what I'm striving for. That way we could include bugbears and all that jazz. Not sure what we'll do after that. Probably giant-kin. But onto the goblinoids!


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## megamania (Jun 21, 2003)

Should all of the templates be included that make sense?

I have used lizard-orc 1/2 breeds

Fiendish Orcs

Dire Orcs

Fiendish Dire Orcs

Orc ghosts (in Darksun)


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## Estlor (Jun 23, 2003)

Filby said:
			
		

> *Half-orcs, orogs, and ogrillons also exist on Mystara, one would assume.*




Half-orcs have appeared in previous works (in fact there is IIRC a half-orc wizard in Glantri whose mother was a ghost for a number of years and could only be put to rest when she saw her son).

The other two, as far as I know at least, have never appeared in anything from Mystara.


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## Alzrius (Jan 18, 2005)

Hey orcsters!

Just one to point out one otherwise-unmentioned race of orcs from a very, very oblique, but official, source.

In the D&D comic mini-series, "Tempest's Gate," published by Kenzer, the first issue ("Book One: Born of Fire") has a new orc subrace, the ogh, on the inside of the back cover. Note that this is native to Oerth, the World of Greyhawk.

I hope this isn't breaking any rules, but here are the (3E) stats:

*OGH
Medium-Size Humanoid (Orc)
Hit Dice:* 1d8 (6 hp)
*Initiative:* +1 Dex
*Speed:* 30 ft. (leather armor); base 30 ft.
*AC:* 13 (+1 Dex, +2 leather armor)
*Attacks:* Greataxe +3 melee; or javelin +1 ranged
*Damage:* Greataxe 1d12+3; or javelin 1d6+1
*Face/Reach:* 5 ft. by 5 ft./5 ft.
*Special Qualities*:  Darkvision 60 ft.
*Saves:* Fort +3, Ref +1, Will -2
*Abilities:* Str 16, Dex 12, Con 11, Init 7, Wis 6, Cha 6
*Skills:* Listen +2, Spot +2
*Feats:* Alertness
*Climate/Terrain:* Mountainous land or underground
*Organization:* Gang (2-4) squad (11-20 plus 2 3rd-lvel sergeants and 1 leader or 3rd-6th level), or band (30-100 plus 150% noncombatants plus 1 3rd-level sergeant per 10 adults, 5 5th-level lieutenants, and 3 7th-level captains)
*Challenge Rating:* 1/2
*Treasure:* Standard
*Alignment:* Usually lawful evil
*Advancement:* By character class

Ogh are a particular subrace of orc that are found primarily in the Barrier Peaks. In general, oghs look like primitive orcs with gray-green skin, hunched shoulders, low foreheads, and very pronounced lower canines. They have large pupine ears, small white eyes with tiny pupils, and they tend to dress in rags or whatever pieces of armor they can scavenge. Oghs are often hairless.

They spend ost of their time raiding, planning raids, or thinking about raids. Oghs are savage, vicious killers who care nothing for fine arts, crafts or agriculture. They live only to please themselves. An ogh's main pleasure comes from wreaking savage death and destruction upon anyone they encounter. Ogh live from day to day, making no provision for the future. When hungry, they steal or kill; when tired, they sleep. Their language can be understood by anyone who speaks Orc. Oghs may also speak Goblin or Giant as well.

Oghs are impressed by shows of power, and tend to be easily manipulated by powerful evil wizards and sorcerers. Oghs follow these masters blindly, obeying their commands with little regard for personal safety. Strangely, it is the rare ogh who thinks of betraying his master.

In other respects, ogh society resembles that of other orcs.


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## John Q. Mayhem (Jan 18, 2005)

The Sharakim from Races of Destiny resemble orcs, but I beleive that they are actually a human subrace.


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## Echohawk (Jan 18, 2005)

I have a few orc variations indexed that I haven't yet seen mentioned:

 - Boogin (a Realms Orc variant that first appeared in the 'Shadowdale' booklet of the 2E _Forgotten Realms Campaign Setting_ and is updated in Eric L. Boyd's _Bestiary of the Realms, Volume 1_, on p106)
 - Tel-Amhothlan (these are elf/orc crossbreeds unique to the Kingdoms of Kalamar, and can be found on page 207 of _Dangerous Denizens: The Monsters of Tellene_)
 - Moonorc (this apparently appears in Dungeon #25, but I don't have that issue, so I can't tell you anything more than that)

Also, Dragon #44 has a variety of half-orcs on page 17:
 - Orc-Bugbear
 - Orc-Gnoll
 - Orc-Goblin
 - Orc-Hobgoblin
 - Orc-Kobold
 - Orc-Ogre


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## Sigurd (Jan 18, 2005)

I believe Middle Earth also had the Snagga orc - a lesser or servitor orc?


S


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## Stebie9173 (Jan 18, 2005)

There is also the Sand Orc from White Dwarf. Around about issue 60-70, I think..

Sigurd... Snaga was an orcish epithet meaning "slave", I believe. It was applied to any lesser race and also to orcs. The differences between Tolkien's orcs/goblins were rather blurred, except for the Uruk-Hai of course.


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## BOZ (Jan 18, 2005)

OGH-no!


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## Shade (Jan 18, 2005)

Echohawk said:
			
		

> - Moonorc (this apparently appears in Dungeon #25, but I don't have that issue, so I can't tell you anything more than that)




The moonorc is an early "templated" creature, a sample "moon creature".


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## John Q. Mayhem (Jan 19, 2005)

Tolkien also had those small, snuffling tracker Orcs. I believe there were 3 kinds of Orcs (the smaller mountain-Orcs/goblins, the larger, dark Uruks, and the tracker-Orcs), the Uruk-Hai, and then whatever the guys in the Shire were. There's something of a debate about whether the Uruk-Hai are half-Orcs or not.


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## Filby (Jan 19, 2005)

Thanks for the input!  I've been meaning to update this list and all the others for the longest time...

I'd update the list with both the new subraces you've mentioned and those from other sources, but my home computer's haywire ATM (I'm typing from a library). Thanks for bumping the thread though -- as soon as my PC's working again, I'll update ASAP.


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## Sigurd (Jan 19, 2005)

Stebie9173 said:
			
		

> There is also the Sand Orc from White Dwarf. Around about issue 60-70, I think..
> 
> Sigurd... Snaga was an orcish epithet meaning "slave", I believe. It was applied to any lesser race and also to orcs. The differences between Tolkien's orcs/goblins were rather blurred, except for the Uruk-Hai of course.




I hear you, but others have used the title in a middle earth hierarchy of orcs. I remember in the dawn of time (10+years ago) I had a photocopy of a magazine article in my DM Binder. Can't remember the magazine but it might have been Dragon or White Dwarf.

If the orcs were created by dark masters it makes sense to me that they'd take advantage of mutations for the ones that did particular things best.

S


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## yennico (Apr 8, 2005)

Kingdom of Kalamar has also five Orc sub-races .
They are presented in the book: "Fury in the Wastelands - Orcs of Tellene" which I do not own yet.

Ypu will find a bibliography of published orc contents in rpg is 
here. Sadly the site is not updated lately.


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## Ogrebear (Aug 10, 2005)

*More Orcs*

Don't forget the 3rd Ed Warcraft book has its own version of Orcs - 'mostly civilized' would be a good way to describe them!

The offical Wizards boards also has many varients of the 3.x Half-Orc/Orc. 

Does the Earthdawn D20 conversion here: http://earthdawn.20m.com/index.htm count since it inculdes D20 stats?


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## elforcelf (Sep 5, 2005)

DRAGONSTAR had a half orc half orge race the Orck (sp) in Galactic Races,can not find it.


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## fnork de sporg (Oct 2, 2005)

The race in dragonstar was the Oruk, a cross between ogres and orcs, they were large creatures but were smarter than either of their ancestors taking no intelligence penalties.


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## TurlinBlackwind (Oct 3, 2005)

That makes me sad, Athasian orcs are extinct  
Not suprising either though, they may be extremely versatile little devils, but even the orcs luck would run out after a month under the Dark Sun away from trade routes to pillage.

So many orcs, so little time. Too bad spelljammer orcs already had existed else I could have had fun doing a 'how many orcs does it take to build a spaceship' campaign.   and if memory serves (and it better or no dinner) orc and elf blood can't mix directly so there goes the comedy of a mutt child of the farest and the crudest races. I'd have to have the kid Half human, quarter orc, quarter elf.

does Al' Qadim have orcs? I know thats olde but I just don't know..... :\


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## Shade (May 12, 2006)

Recovered from Yahoo Cache:

Echohawk 01-03-06 12:41 PM 

The Losel is a primitive orc-baboon crossbreed (with the Orc subtype) from Living Greyhawk Journal #3.

And there are a few new orc and half-orc related races in Unearthed Arcana:

Aquatic Orc
Arctic Orc
Desert Orc
Jungle Orc
Water Orc

Aquatic Half-Orc
Arctic Half-Orc
Desert Half-Orc
Jungle Half-Orc
Water Half-Orc

Finally, Sandstorm includes a race entry for Scablands Half-Orcs, also known as Scab-Orcs.


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