Orcs have been a staple in Dungeons & Dragons and all of high-fantasy for over 50 years, joining creatures like goblins and Gnomes as staples of the genre. Spending multiple mediums such as novels, tabletop RPGs, and even video games, Orcs have been a valuable go-to villain for stories. However, there have been many misunderstandings and misconceptions over the years of their existence since their first appearance in Lord Of The Rings.
Because of their mass use and prominent position in fantasy pop culture, it’s prevalent for many facts about orcs to be misconstrued or completely glossed over. Orcs may not seem very interesting on the surface, but their history and culture are rich. Knowing the facts can only help if there’s a Dungeons & Dragons campaign on the horizon. For those looking to play a member of the race or perhaps fight an orcish boss, here are a few facts to keep in mind.
8 Their Culture Revolves Around War Out Of Fear
Orc culture is heavily invested in religion and war. Orcs are ordered to pillage, raid, and steal from all other races by their god, and obey out of fear of being struck down by the god himself. Because of this strong generational ideology, Orcs terrorize all lands they come across, killing and taking anything they can get their hands on.
With Orcs' inherent lack of intelligence, they need little reason to raid. They tend to mistake small coincidences as omens or signs from their god that they need to raid.
7 Gruumsh The One-Eyed Is Their God
Gruumsh is at the top of the Orc deity hierarchy. He goes by many monikers, such as “He who never sleeps,” or “He who watches.” Gruumsh is a violent, bloodthirsty deity who revels in war and destruction. He is visually described as a giant green-and-yellow-skinned, one-eyed Orc wielding a massive hammer or axe.
Gruumsh has also chosen to declare war on all the other deities of the realm for cheating him out of land for his orc worshipers. In revengem he has vowed to wash over the entire plane like a plague, wiping out all the other races as retribution — especially elves.
6 Orcs Were Cheated
As a matter of fact, Gruumsh's grudge isn't unjustified. In divine history, when the pantheon of gods was dividing land up for their people, Gruumsh arrived and discovered that no land had been set aside for his orcs. It is believed that the Elven god Correlon rigged the drawing of lots so that the orcs received no land to thrive, which is an evil deed.
This treachery enraged Gruumsh and was the start of his vendetta against all Deities, especially the elven ones and their kind. Gruumsh passed his hatred for elves and all others down to his people, the Orcs, and thus groomed them into a plight on the world.
5 Orcs Start Training For Battle During Childhood
Because of the constant raiding and pillaging of the continent, all orcs are trained in battle and taught how to wield a weapon nearly at birth. The sheer rapidness in how orcs procreate ensures that the horde will remain strong generation after generation, and the raiding may continue to the end of time.
This is overseen by the orc goddess of fertility, Luthic, who signals when clans should raid and refill the ranks. Luthic also sometimes passes out blessings to newborn orcs; some of these blessed offspring become Orogs.
4 Orogs Are Evolved Orcs
On extremely rare occasions, an Orc can be blessed at birth with higher intelligence, strength, and prowess. An Orc newborn may evolve when the Orc goddess of fertility, Luthic, blesses an Orc child and becomes an Orog. Orogs have the ability to understand and learn, unlike their brutish sires.
With their higher levels of intelligence, they can learn to wield special weapons and even cast spells. Because of their potential, many chieftains slaughter Orog children at birth out of fear of losing their power and position. However, Orogs often grow to become charismatic leaders and take control over entire hordes.
3 Orcs Are Not Related To Ogres
There is a considerable misunderstanding among fantasy races that Orcs are descendants of Ogres; in the world of D&D, this is not true. While the Orc bloodline is quite polluted with various races, Ogres have no relation to orcs or vise-versa outside of reproduction.
There are cases of Orcs being part Ogre when an Orc chooses to mate with an Ogre, but there is no direct relation between the two. Ogres are actually descendants of true giants, due to a taboo ritual that giants enact to become stronger.
2 The Racial Tension Between Orcs & Elves Starts With Their Deities
As earlier stated, the Orc god Gruumsh’s hatred for other races, especially elves, stems from the cruel trick played on him that left his people with nowhere to belong. It’s said that it was the God of Elves’ idea to leave the orcs out in the cold.
This slight sparked a vicious fight between Gruumsh and the god of elves, Correlon, resulting in a battle that lost Gruumsh his eye. This clash seared fresh hatred into the Gruumsh that would be handed down to his people and nurtured over centuries. Orcs' vile and violent behavior is a byproduct of this hatred, that drives them into frenzies whenever an elf shows its face to them.
1 Orcs Are At Constant War, Even With Each Other
Another byproduct of the Orc god’s disdain for the world is the visceral nature of all orcs to crave violence. Orcs sleep, raid, and repeat; no village is too small, and no foe is too strong that a raid party of strong blooded Orcs will not attempt to pillage and slaughter whatever they can.
But Orcs' lust for blood does not stop with other races; Orcs also have an increasing infighting problem. War with other clans, bloodlines, and “orc royalty” cause them to be in constant civil war, scrambling for power and position over other clans from other territories.