This week we continue our exploration of ancestry in Realm of Runes with Orcs, and their art by Nikki Smith-Cielo. Like Goblins, Orcs are a basic ancestry that entirely lacks the Humanoid trait, instead trading it for Goblinoid. As a basic ancestry, Orcs can be played separately or freely combined with any of the available hybrid ancestries.
Orcs have had a checkered past in the history of tabletop RPGs. Like Goblins, they were once exclusively monsters, and a lot of their lore has historically been designed to reflect that, including a (now infamous) "always evil" alignment. Realm of Runes acknowledges this history, but chooses to present a version of the Orc that moves beyond this unfortunate stigma while still keeping that Orcish flavor that draws so many to them.
From the rulebook: "Large and muscular, orcs have an imposing stature and a reputation for using their natural power to antagonize others. The typical orc lives for about fifty years, but power struggles in orcish cultures usually cull those that weaken with age long before natural causes can claim them. Orcish culture tends to be tribal in nature, and will often raid settlements for slaves and resources with a frequency that leads them to be generally unwelcome in cosmopolitan societies. The stereotypical orc’s disrespect for those weaker than itself can also cause a great deal of friction, even when interactions are not already hostile. Yet despite their imposing appearances and terrifying reputations, orcs have socially evolved quite rapidly in the millennia since their intentional creation by twisted magic. In places where orcish bands have stable relations with their neighbors and internal structures, their more aggressive tendencies are grown out of entirely or become more ceremonial in nature, a nod to the past while fully embracing the future.
"Orcish craftsmanship is not usually elegant, and often includes extraneous spikes and a heft that allows basically anything to serve as a weapon in a pinch. Most orcish cultures have a distaste for art that is not also related to their might-centric world view. A statue might be looked on with derision unless it happens to be a statue of the tribal warlord.
"Orcs have a reputation for being brutal and severe, and typical orcish cultures reinforce these aspects in order to strike fear into those that they war against. Orcs that hail from atypical orcish cultures, or that are raised in less harsh environments, are just as capable of becoming thoughtful and considerate members of a society as anyone else. Unfortunately, these orcs generally face a stigma from their brethren as well as their adopted societies, as the reputation of their kind makes others slow to trust. Those that overcome this social gulf and become close friends with an orc will generally find that they are fiercely loyal friends, and those that can keep pace with the typical orcish culture can find acceptance surprisingly easily, even if it might be difficult and stressful to maintain."
As a basic ancestry, Orcs have a full suite of ten ancestry feats with which they can diversify themselves, as well as a few abilities that are common to all Orcs. Darkvision lets them see perfectly well (if only in black and white) even in the complete absence of a light source, while their monstrous origin gives them Light Sensitivity, a penalty to most checks while in direct sunlight. With 10 bonus Hit Points from ancestry, tied with Dwarves for the most, Orcs tend to make for extremely durable characters.
Orc ancestry feats tend to focus on utilizing their imposing nature to get the edge on their foes. This physical focus is backed up by their inherent boosts to both Strength and Constitution, giving Orcs excellent synergy with classes that favor up close and personal weapon combat, like Barbarians, Monks, Paladins, Rogues and Vanguards. Let's take a look at each of the Orc ancestry feats. Those with the biology trait are exclusive to Orcs, while those without are available to those of other ancestries that have been adopted by Orcs, through the Adopted Ancestry universal feat.
{R} FEROCITY ANCESTRY FEAT
[Ancestry, Biology, Orc]
Requirements: You have more than 1 Hit Point
Trigger: You are reduced to 0 Hit Points
Effect: Remain at 1 Hit Point. You are not slain by a death effect.
With this feat, as long as you have a reaction and more than one Hit Point, you know your Orc is going to stay conscious. Since it leaves you with just the one Hit Point, it can be difficult to use this trick more than once unless you have healers in the party or some healing items on hand.
INCREDIBLE METABOLISM ANCESTRY FEAT
[Ancestry, Biology, Orc]
Whenever you recover Hit Points, increase the recovery by your Fortitude modifier.
With 10 bonus Hit Points and an inherently large Endurance, Orcs tend to have a lot of Hit Points, right from the beginning. This can make typical level-appropriate healing values feel small, or take too long. This feat ensures that you don't push yourself past the party's ability to heal effectively, and don't hog all the potions.
INTIMIDATING PRESENCE ANCESTRY FEAT
[Ancestry, Orc]
Your stature and apparent savagery make you impossible to get used to. Creatures are never bolstered to your fear effects.
As a temporary immunity, creatures becoming bolstered has the potential to shut down a lot of tactics when it shows up. Rolling badly enough at a skill activity like Demoralize will leave your targets bolstered and unafraid. This ability also works with any source of fear, however, including if your Orc uses fear-based magic.
LITERAL-MINDED ANCESTRY FEAT
[Ancestry, Orc]
You were raised without much grounding in linguistic nuance and metaphor, which makes it harder to confuse you with flowery language. You have a +2 un-typed bonus to saves and DCs against lingual effects, but take a -1 un-typed penalty to checks and DCs when you use them.
Lingual effects come in all sorts of flavors, but ones that require a save are often have nasty effects like fear and confusion. For characters that don't have proficiency to spare on Will Saves, this can help cover a wide array of situations that might cause you to turn on your party against your will. It will also likely lead to amusing role-play scenarios.
NATURAL RAGE ANCESTRY FEAT
[Ancestry, Biology, Orc]
You are capable of channeling your natural inner fury with devastating focus. You gain the Barbarian Dedication feat as a bonus feat and do not need to meet the prerequisites for that feat.
Leveraging your good Endurance into Rage can turn many characters into a force to be reckoned with on the battlefield. By granting Barbarian Dedication directly, Orcs possess one of the few ways in which a character can be multiclassed at level 1, since all dedication feats have a level prerequisite of at least 2nd-level. The Rage you get from this ability isn't as durable and is more tiring than an actual Barbarian's rage, but gives angry characters of other classes a head start in imitating the pure thing.
SMELL FEAR ANCESTRY FEAT
[Ancestry, Biology, Orc]
You can use smell as a precise sense within 12 hexes, but only to locate scared creatures.
Other sources of precise senses are extremely valuable. This one has better range than most because it only works conditionally. If you also invested in Intimidating Presence, however, there's a good chance that you'll be able to keep your foes nice and scared, and then they can't hide from you.
SUPERSTITIOUS ANCESTRY FEAT
[Ancestry, Orc]
You have a +1 un-typed bonus to saves against magic.
Since their ancestry has magical creation as its origin, a general distrust of magic and magicians is quite common among Orcs. Most spells that require a save have many degrees of success, so every little bit helps and can make the difference between taking a reduced effect, or avoiding it altogether.
TENACIOUS VITALITY ANCESTRY FEAT
[Ancestry, Orc, Biology]
You can take a lot of punishment. Increase your maximum Hit Points by 5.
Special: This feat can be taken any number of times.
This feat just straight-up gives you more Hit Points, but doesn't do much else. As important and Hit Points can be, though, this one has still been quite popular during the playtest. If you see a party Wizard who has the most Hit Points in the group, this feat is likely responsible.
TUSKED ANCESTRY FEAT
[Ancestry, Biology, Orc]
You have thick, sharp bottom teeth which grant you a jaws unarmed attack that deals 1d8 piercing damage with the forceful and simple traits. You can use your tusks to Riposte.
Variant unarmed attacks give characters much-enhanced versatility. 1d8 is a good damage die for an unarmed attack, but the real stars here are the forceful trait and the ability to use your tusks to Riposte. Forceful increases the number of dice you roll with each additional hit on your turn, while Riposting usually requires a weapon with the parry trait.
WEAPON FAMILIARITY (ORC) ANCESTRY FEAT
[Ancestry, Orc]
Your kin favor brutal, personal weapons. You gain an esoteric proficiency boost to brawling weapons and knives. If a weapon has the orc trait, it does not have the exotic trait for you, and you treat it as common. You can always use an orc weapon to Riposte.
Extra proficiency increases greatly expand your capabilities, especially if you pick a class (like the Cleric or Sorcerer) that doesn't get many to begin with. Ignoring the exotic trait also makes those weapons easier to use altogether. Finally, Riposte is a great way to punish foes that gamble on their lowest-bonus attacks. Normally only available as a reaction if you wield a weapon with the parry trait, this feat helps ensure that you're always ready to take advantage of a foe's weakness with the preferred weapons of your people.
Whether you plan to be a full-blooded Orc or make use of one of the hybrid ancestries, Orcs always stand out in a party. Often pigeon-holed because of their history and appearance, Orcs have the capacity for surprising depth and variety. Next week we'll continue our ancestry exploration with the last hybrid ancestry, Half-Orcs.
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