Half-Orcs
You have always felt a bit like an outsider among your fellow humans -- why is that? Why is your temper so short and your night vision so good? Why do you have such a natural talent with animals? Why do you look the way you do? Perhaps you adventure to answer these questions, or because you have a strange wanderlust and deep dissatisfaction that you cannot explain. Or maybe you adventure for the myriad reasons that humans do. Whatever your motive, your temper and your strength often lead those like you into battle.
Details
Introduction: Before there were humans, orcs mounted on dire wolves waged ceaseless, brutal war on the other races. Ultimately, the sphinxes led elves and dwarves in a grand alliance, and they stamped out the orcs utterly. When humans finally did appear, they found only a few cowed and scattered orc clans, and in their naive mercy, they adopted these orcs rather than see them dead. In time, orcs married and mingled with humans, and soon there were no more orcs -- just humans with an orcish lineage. Today, most half-orcs do not understand their heritage, and think of themselves only as a variety of humans. Only a few of the most ancient elves have seen an orc, and only they preserve the knowledge of the orc tongue. NPC elves may recognize you for what you are, especially older ones, though they usually do not mention it.
Appearance: Human looks are so varied! Short, tall, weak, muscular; black, brown, white, green; curly or straight hair; curvy or wiry physique; flat or pointy teeth. You happen to be one of the mesomorphic types with slightly green skin, pointy teeth, and black hair. So what? You're all humans, right? Right?!
That said, not every half-orc has all the physical features of a typical half-orc. Some look nearly human. You must choose at least one orcish physical trait, however, or choose the Fitting In racial power, see below.
Society: Among humans, few suspect that half-orcs have an unusual heritage. However, they are distinctive, and the half-orc "look" is known for brute strength and dim wits. That's sterotype enough to alienate a person; add in a genuine intuition that you are different, and the result is that many half-orcs are angry, or loners, or prefer the company of animals. On the other hand, many half-orcs find good company among laboring folk as well as among criminals, soldiers, gladiators, and fighters. They tend to be neutral in alignment.
Rules
Character Creation: Apply the following adjustments to every half-orc player character.
- Ability Score Adjustment: Choose: +2 Strength OR +1 Strength and +1 Constitution.
- Saving Throw Bonuses: +2 on Fortitude saving throws.
- Extra Hit Points: +5.
- Skill Bonuses: +3 to Handle Animal, Ride, and Intimidate skills. You are proficient in these skills.
- Size: Medium.
- Move: 30 feet.
- Vision: Darkvision.
- Languages: Human. Bonus Languages: Common, Dwarf, Elf, and Gnome.
- Special: Quick Temper - You gain a +1 morale bonus on melee attacks against any creature that has wounded you within the last minute. Your anger ebbs a minute after your foe's last blow lands.
- Weakness: Slow Wits, No Glitz - You suffer a -2 penalty on all Intelligence- and Charisma-based skills except for Handle Animal, Intimidate, and Knowledge (Nature). Most humans treat you poorly, with a starting attitude of unfriendly, though they do not know your heritage.
Tyro Tier (character level 3): Select one of these three powers:
- Power: Favored Class (Barbarian) - Your levels as a barbarian do not count against you when determining experience point penalties for multiclassing.
- Power: Way With Beasts - You have an affinity for aberrations, animals, magical beasts, and vermin that have intelligence scores of 1, 2, or 3. You can handle these creatures as a swift or move action, using the Handle Animal skill. You can "push" these creatures as a move action. You can teach these creatures a trick in a day. You can train these creatures in half the usual time. You can rear three more of these creatures at a time than allowed by the Handle Animal skill. You can use Ride and Handle Animal with all these creatures.
- Power: Fitting In - You have instinctively learned to fit in with human society. You are treated as a normal human in every way. Your orc heritage is hidden, even from elves. Your fellow humans no longer treat you poorly; their starting attitude is indifferent. This does not negate the numeric penalties of Slow Wits, No Glitz.
Adventurer Tier (character level 8): Select one of these three powers*:
- Power: Strong - You are not penalized in any way when carrying a light or medium load, and you use the medium load penalities when carrying a heavy load. You gain a +2 racial bonus with all strength-based skill checks as well as with all special attacks that result in moving the target.
- Power: Toothy - Your teeth are large and sharp, protruding even when your mouth is closed. You gain a bite attack. This is a secondary natural attack that deals 1d3 points of piercing damage. (See the rules for secondary natural attacks.) You may not take this power and also the Fitting In racial power, above.
- Power: Friends in Low Places - You gain a +4 racial bonus on charisma-based skill checks made to interact with any humanoid with the commoner, warrior, barbarian, or adept classes; as well as with any humanoid who is poor, downtrodden, or disabled; with hermits, loners, criminals, and losers; as well as with all slaves and prisoners and former slaves and prisoners; and with those who have a charisma less than 9. With these people, your starting attitude is friendly. This bonus rises to +6 when interacting with any half-orc. The bonus granted by this power stacks with (does not replace) the numeric penalties of Slow Wits, No Glitz.
Hero Tier (character level 13): Select one of these two powers*:
- Power: Beast Whisperer - You are proficient with the Sense Motive skill, and you gain a +4 bonus on Wild Empathy and Sense Motive checks made to understand aberrations, animals, magical beasts, and vermin that have intelligence scores of 1, 2, or 3. If you make a DC20 Sense Motive check against one of these creatures as a swift action, you gain a +4 dodge bonus to AC against that creature for the duration of the encounter.
- Power: Vengeance - Whenever one of your allies is reduced to negative hit points or killed, your anger drives you to greater power, and you gain a +2 racial bonus with natural and manufactured weapon damage for the rest of the encounter.
Legend Tier (character level 18): Select one of these two powers*:
- Power: Nightstalker - You are sneaky when light is scarce. In dim light you gain a +3 on stealth checks, rising to +6 in darkness so long as your darkvision is functioning. You gain a +4 bonus to initiative for encounters that you start in dim light or darkness, so long as your darkvision is functioning.
- Power: Human After All - Select any human racial power.
* Or select a lower tier power that you have not chosen before.