Thus concludes Orc Week. But don’t let that stop you from discussing orcs with me! (Or any previously featured species!)
These recaps will come in three parts: The general impression all of your feedback gave me, my own thoughts on the species of the week, and then a bit on Project TOF (the fantasy TRPG I’m developing, and the reason I’m looking for feedback in the first place).
There are three things people can agree on: Orcs are big, buff, and have tusks. And... that’s about it. There are a few other features of course, but none are nearly as unanimously decided as those three aspects.
Another feature that got mentioned (not quite as) frequently was the idea that orcs are tribal warriors who value strength (physical or otherwise) above all else (often followed by ‘and conquest’). I can see where that comes from (given the two most culturally prominent interpretations of orcs - Warcraft and Tolkien), but I find that... frustrating to say the least.
Let me just start with... Orcs Deserve Better. I personally know a lot of people who love orcs, and it pains me to see how they’re typically represented. The cultural baggage of contemporary orcs is packed with racism, the result of basing fantasy creatures on people and their stereotypes - a trend that also influenced why we call them fantasy “races” instead of fantasy “species” to begin with. The very concept of “evil races” just burns my insides.
The idea that orcs have a natural bent towards evil, violence, and warfare bugs me - especially when it’s almost always portrayed alongside being dark-skinned, tribal humanoids who speak dumbed-down English. Again, I see where it comes from, but that doesn’t mean I have to like it. Just like I don’t have to like the fact that the myth of fairy changelings originates from medieval European parents claiming their deformed or mentally ill children weren’t actually theirs - the fairies took my real child and left us this weird one! If the abelism in that isn’t apparent to you, then idk how to help you see the racism in how orcs are typically depicted.
Anyways, the consensus that orcs are 1. Big, 2. Buff, and 3. Have tusks is... not a whole lot to go off of, but I’ll take it as an opportunity to get creative. There’s a lot of things that could end up fitting that vague of a description (and hopefully still feel like an orc).
At one point, the classification of orcs based on etymology got brought up - be they mammals, goblinoids, demons, giants, or some aquatic creature. Personally, I like the idea of taking inspiration from orcas. They aren’t called “killer whales” for nothing. They fit the bill pretty well for a big, buff creature with sharp teeth. ...And also because Tolkien specifically refuted the connection in his own works (anyone who’s followed me long enough knows I have an extreme love/hate relationship with Tolkien). Consequently, the interpretation I like least is orcs as goblinoids.
Part of the thesis of TOF (when it comes to how to portray fantasy species) is that human-centrism is the root of bigotry in fantasy creatures. As I’ve mentioned, many mythical creatures are based on racist or abelist stereotypes. When fantasy creatures boil down to caricatures of a certain group of humans, that bigotry becomes ingrained in that fantasy’s cultural baggage.
Basing fantasy creatures on something other than humans is my main approach to decoupling fantasy from that baggage. What that other thing will be for orcs... I’m undecided. I’m really digging the orca idea at the moment, but I could use more feedback on that. A case could be made for pigs given old-school D&D’s depictions. Some form of demonic connection would play to their etymology, but that’s getting precariously close to that old “evil races” idea.
TOF also avoids tying cultural backgrounds to species, so no assumptions that every orc is born to a roving war-tribe. They may get abilities that make it easier to lean in to such a role (like a strength bonus, which would help with melee attacks), but never an ability that basically reads: “You’re from a warrior tribe, so you get warrior tribe stuff.” (Elves automatically getting longbow proficiency regardless of background is a great example I’ve used before). Species rules should focus on the biological, or the ‘nature’ to class + background’s ‘nurture.’
When it comes to stats, a bonus to Strength is an obvious choice. At the moment, my working draft is +2 Str, +1 Con, -1 Dex, -1 Wis. (Note that all species ability modifiers are opt-in in TOF, as long as they add up to zero). I plan on giving them a bite attack, since those tusks are such a defining feature for them. If I go the orca-inspired route, expect to see a swim speed. Also, people agree that orcs are big, but few specified how big... given the etymological relationship to giants, maybe I’ll move them up to the Large size category.
