Half-Orcs

Half-orcs are born into many different communities across Eldareth. Their families may come from human and orc cultures that have lived alongside one another for generations, or from regions where those relationships are more recent.

Their experiences depend heavily on where they are raised. In some places, half-orcs are common and attract little attention. Elsewhere, old conflicts involving orc communities still influence how they are treated.

Half-orcs can be found throughout Eldareth. Those raised among the Vashkari grow up within their traditions of discipline and service, while Zhanyin communities teach customs shaped by reflection and restraint. In the Mok'tan jungles, family and clan traditions are closely tied to spirits and the natural world. Among the Varokh, half-orcs take part in the customs of the northern mountain clans.

These traditions come from family and community rather than ancestry alone. A half-orc raised elsewhere may have little or no connection to any of them.

Identity and Culture

Half-orcs are usually tall and strongly built, though their appearance varies widely between families. Their skin may reflect either side of their ancestry, with grey, green, brown, and related tones all common.

Tusks vary considerably in size and may be barely visible in some individuals. Hair, facial features, and other physical traits also differ according to family and region.

There is no single half-orc culture across Eldareth. Most grow up within the customs of the household and community around them, while mixed families may maintain traditions from both sides.

This can lead to misunderstandings when outsiders assume ancestry reflects upbringing. A half-orc raised in a human city may know little about orc customs, while someone raised among the Vashkari may regard those same customs as an ordinary part of family and community life.

Some half-orcs later seek out relatives or traditions they did not grow up with. Others remain closely connected to the culture that raised them and feel little need to explore another part of their ancestry.

Half-Orcs Across Eldareth

Half-orcs are most common in regions where human and orc communities have maintained long-term contact through shared settlements, trade, alliances, or family ties.

In Vashkari bastions, half-orcs generally take part in the same training and responsibilities as other members of the community. Among the Zhanyin, family ties and upbringing carry greater importance than whether someone has mixed ancestry.

The Mok'tan and Varokh maintain their own clan traditions. A half-orc raised within one of these communities is generally treated as a member of that clan or people rather than as someone standing outside it.

Attitudes are less welcoming in some regions with a history of conflict involving orcs. Half-orcs may face suspicion or assumptions based on events that happened generations before they were born, even when they have no connection to the people involved.

In regions where mixed families have been common for a long time, the distinction may carry little social importance at all. Half-orcs there take part in the same professions, institutions, and local traditions as the people around them.

Their histories are therefore usually tied to particular families, clans, cities, and regions rather than to a single half-orc tradition shared across Eldareth.

Half-Orc Traits

Ability Score Increase. When determining your character’s ability scores, increase one score by 2 and increase a different score by 1, or increase three different scores by 1. You can't raise any of your scores above 20.

Creature Type. You are a Humanoid. You are also considered an orc for any prerequisite or effect that requires you to be an orc.

Size. You are Medium.

Speed. Your walking speed is 30 feet.

Darkvision. You can see in dim light within 60 feet of you as if it were bright light, and in darkness as if it were dim light. You discern colors in that darkness only as shades of gray.

Adrenaline Rush. You can take the Dash action as a bonus action. You can use this trait a number of times equal to your proficiency bonus, and you regain all expended uses when you finish a long rest. Whenever you use this trait, you gain a number of temporary hit points equal to your proficiency bonus.

Menacing. You gain proficiency in the Intimidation skill.

Skillful. You gain Proficiency in one Skill of your choice.

Relentless Endurance. When you are reduced to 0 hit points but not killed outright, you can drop to 1 hit point instead. Once you use this trait, you can’t do so again until you finish a long rest.

Languages. Your character can speak, read, and write Common and one other language that you and your DM agree is appropriate for the character. The Player’s Handbook offers a list of languages to choose from. The DM is free to modify that list for a campaign.