Orc (race)

The average orc is not the savage beast often described in stories, but a fighter commited to the survival of his family group. Orcish society is driven by the triadic forces of Chieften, Mother, and Shaman, a trio of forces that influence all aspects of their lives.

Alignment: Usually lawful, often evil

Stats
Strength +2, Constatution +2, Intelligence -2, Wisdom +2, Charisma -2.

Orcs are strong, tough, and perceptive, but have little patience for book learning and tend to be short-tempered and impatient with others.

Light Sensitivity (Ex) Creatures with light sensitivity are dazzled in areas of bright sunlight or within the radius of a daylight spell.

Darkvision 120ft

Weapon Familiarity: Proficent in great axe and falchions, as well as any weapon with "Orc" in the name.

Orc Ferocity: An orc does not fall unconscious after reaching 0 or less hitpoints, but does continue to bleed and lose hitpoints as normal.

Resiliant: +2 verses poisons and disease

Savage: +2 to climb, intimidate, and survival

Traits
Sharp Tusks: gain a bite attack that deals 1d4+strength mod

Daylight adaptation: Orcs with this trait ignore the effects of light sensitivity

Age
1  This category includes barbarians, oracles, rogues, and sorcerers. 2  This category includes bards, cavaliers, fighters, gunslingers, paladins, rangers, summoners, and witches. 3  This category includes alchemists, clerics, druids, inquisitors, magi, monks, and wizards.



Culture
The highest point of authority in an orc tribe is its three leaders, the chieften, matriarch, and shaman. The chieften rules over the aspects of tribal life viewed by the orcs as warrior; war, weapon training, hunting. The matriarch rules over the aspects of tribal life viewed as caregiving; birthing, raising, and teaching of young, as well as construction and food gathering. The shaman rules over the magical aspects of orc culture, such as religion, scholarly pursuits, and magecraft. As a lawful society, the tribal pecking order descends from these three points. Orc society views the role of the warrior alone to be masculine, while both shamanistic and caregiving activities are feminine.

Orc culture is unique in Northern Arcamond in that despite two physical genders, the orcs have three societal genders. Orcish children are initially devided at birth by their physical gender into either the warrior or caregiver castes. Upon coming of age, an orc can choose to change castes, giving up both rights and responsibilities of one caste and joining another. Upon their initiation into their new caste, they are considered by orc society to be of that gender, their physical gender no longer mattering. No orc is born into the shaman caste; the caste is joined.

Calander System


The orc calendar system is divided into cycles, first is the cycle of the sun known as in orc, the cycle of the first moon named  in orc, the cycle of the second moon named  in orc. The eight seasons in the seasonal cycles, the still season or the first part of winter, the season of storms or the second part of winter, the thawing season or the first part of spring, the budding season or second part of spring, the growing season or first part of summer, the fire season or second part of summer, the raiding season or first part of fall, and the Dying season or second part of fall.

Language
The orc language is more complex than most would guess from listening to an orc speak in other languages. Orc grammar does not translate well to human ears. For instance, an orc speaker nearly always uses both their own name and the name of the person whom they are addressing. Orcs often consider humans arrogant for assuming that the listener knows their name. Names in orc society are very important, and in the shaman's runic magic, indistinguishable from the person themself. The biggest insult one can offer an orc is to deny them their name, calling them "Orc" or even "Thing". Orcish pronouns differ from their human counterparts. "He" and "She" are not used at all; pronouns carry no assumption of gender. Pronouns are seperated rather by race; one word is used for an orc, and another for other races. For an orc to refer to a member of another race by the orc term is a sign of deep respect.