How to World Build with Orcs

[@somerandomguy3129]

In my world, orcs used to be bipedal pig people, but over the years, they begin to spread and evolve differently. The ones in the west are basically orcs of western media like Warhammer or warcraft. And the ones in the east are the orcs of Japanese media. Being a bit more bigger, more aggressive, and still have their piggish face, but have a more humanoid looking build. Ganon from the early Zelda games is an example. Orcs have their own culture based on the environment they live. And their skins vary from grey to blue. The favorite orcs I made are Jungle Orcs, which are of course, belong to the western orcs. But the favorite plot twist I love about them is that they are not only allies with the jungle elves, but are also reliable to each other, and are basically best friends. Unlike in past portrayals where orcs and elves wanted to go for each other's throats!

[@twilightgardenspresentatio6384]

Elves are the ones who need more cultural variety

[@twilightgardenspresentatio6384]

Zelda one Gannon is the perfect example

[@potato_723]

A few ideas: For more peaceful, nature-loving, "noble savage" orcs, why not minotaurs or centaurs? How about orcs based on spartan culture. Brutal and traumatic, designed to create warriors desensitized to violence with no notable accomplishments outside of war, built on an immense slave population. The orcs aren't inherently evil, but their society is designed to make them into warriors. I also think orcs and bugbears could be swapped out, with armies made of disposable goblins led by cunning hobgoblin commanders, with bugbears used for muscle and intimidation. What do you think?

[@potato_723]

Another idea could be a very literal "orcs are elves" concept: Orcs ARE elves. Their use as soldiers means they are less carefully groomed and slender, with dirt and grime covering well-developed muscles, possibly with a layer of fat (less bodybuilder-y shredded muscles, they aren't practical or healthy). Their skin and height could be different through environmental factors (like real humans). Piercings and tattoos can be used to make them even less elfish

[@mrcatchingup]

Thank you for these recommendations. I don't subscribe from one video but this is the second of yours I watched and I am on my way to another of yours. I got a feeling third time will be the charm for you.

[@UltraDonny5000]

I just found your channel today (6/20/23) and I'm lovin mining it.

[@kid9893]

Well I am glad you have found it my friend and hope I can continue to provide content you enjoy.

[@rodolfomaravillasduran8793]

Now themz valid points, but what about the waaaagh. It's time to get the Boyz for a good Krumping

[@kid9893]

Dem Uumies do look like they need a Krumping

[@CatWithAHat2HD]

I think the most standout feature of the concept of orcs, in its many iterations across modern literature, is the fact they are raiders. They lack the social cohesion to build their own sophisticated civilization, but they have the raw power to steal from it, given the opportunity. In that sense, they are a really strong concept. Since civilization emerged in the middle-east, up until the mass production of firearms (so literally for thousands of years) the threat of strong, numerous barbarians that just come from abroad and delete your community was pretty much constant and unavoidable. Your sedentary farmers had better tech, but the difference was not overwhelming. An even better summation of what orcs are is the "r" word that means something non-consensual. Not necessarily strictly in the sexual sense, but more broadly, in the historic sense of the word as violent appropriation of any given thing. Orcs are the guys who, if they conquer you, will not form a new regime to govern your society. Instead they will exploit you to death at best, and exterminate you outright at worst. They are the fear of our sedentary farmer ancestors, who could randomly be raided by comparatively savage, nomadic or semi-nomadic barbarians who would take their daughters, their crops, their animals and kill them in the process, before moving on. This theming also justifies the existence of half-orcs in the dramatic sense. They (literally) embody the sexual "replacement" part of that ancestral fear - they will steal ur wife, fiancé or daughter, and if they don't, they'll kill 'em instead. From there you can have them be wherever on the monster to people scale. But either way, they will be morally reprehensible by our standards. Look at ES or WoW orcs in their more humanized forms. They are still very much... savage. They may have some concepts of honour and whatnot, but ultimately, they are might makes right, despotic societies (with tournament-style reproduction in the case of ES orcs I believe - just to add insult to injury on the sexual threat side of things).

[@kid9893]

What a great comment. Yes I agree that they definitely have a more brutal raider culture to them. I also think that's why so many modern games keep softening them, they are afraid of depicting that horror. Thank you.

[@CatWithAHat2HD]

@@kid9893 It's a very fundamental and universal fear, especially in women, so you need genuinely good writing to properly >evoque< a grape threat without spelling it out or at least implying it (for men it's more of a proxy fear, but still very strong, as can be attested by anyone who's ever seen a dad being overprotective of his teen girl). And spelling it out, or implying it, is more or less impossible in modern (anglo-saxon) culture, least you want to attract asinine drama. . You can toe a very specific line and get away with it, but what's the point of that? It's by definition not very creative (and probably fits porn more so than an actual genre of literature, now that I think about it...) . This reminds me: notice that Ukrainian war propaganda, aimed at the Western consumer, has a tendency to call Russian militants "Orcs" (or at least it did that for a time, I'm not following it close enough to know if it may have perhaps changed since). It's a real world use case for the term, and as far as I can tell they are trying to ascribe to their invaders exactly the kinds of qualities I've mentioned.

[@Blackarooni]

I should send this to one of my friends who plays D&D

[@potato_723]

I love your videos!

[@danmacarro]

Great video! I experienced WC3 before DnD or almost any non-Tolkien orc, so that just cant ever shake my Orcs as chieftain ruled, shamanistic parallels of organized "barbarian" tribes like Goths, Huns, Mongols, Turks....also love the idea of really feral sylvan cannibals elves!

[@kid9893]

Yeah as much as I love Tolkiens work I prefer Warcrafts orcs by a wide margin myself.

[@strangesword4524]

Strangely perfect music

[@kid9893]

Thank you, it's a song my friend made.

[@twilightgardenspresentatio6384]

I love the idea of the orcs as leftover constructs from a war that now act like a wildfire or plague with their wizard creator now dead. I gotta find a way to use that, it’s a fantastic image

[@kid9893]

Thank you I'm glad you liked it! I also think the image is quite striking and have also thought about ways to use it. I have another monster in my setting that feels that group though called The Marrowbone. I want to get closer to publishing the game I will make a video about them for sure.

[@thomassmith6232]

In my game world, orcs (or goblinkind) were a slave race bred by an offshoot group of elves I call the Leshi, using their own genetic material and that of carnivorous apes. The result was a very strong but short-tempered creature, long lived but not immortal, with the spark of intelligence, though not so much as their creators. After thousands of years of servitude they rebelled, winning their freedom and decimating the Leshi. They still hate the Leshi above all else and do not differentiate between them and their cousins the Elves.

[@kid9893]

That's really interesting and you know what's funny about you mentioning carnivorous apes? They actually are an important part of the video I'm working on right now. They factor greatly into hobgoblins

[@thomassmith6232]

@@kid9893 Interesting. I'm looking forward to it.

[@marcusblacknell-andrews1783]

In my world, Orcs and Half-Orcs are members of the Gruul Clans of Ravnica. Half-Orcs are born with Wereboar lycanthropy to create stronger warriors.

[@kid9893]

That's a very interesting idea. I like the call back to the pig faces of older depictions.

[@Shaso-xv3tw]

I always think of fantasy races in comparison to real world hominids when possible. Halflings beings similar to a real species of hominids that suffered from something known as island pigmyism, where species on tropical islands with no predators will see an increased metabolism, a decrease in size, and will lose any and all instincts of aggression. I like basing orcs off of Neanderthals, who specialized into being tougher and stronger in response to the harsh northern conditions and likely were more violent and territorial than us Homo Sapiens. Then again Warhammer or a being the way they are always was fun but I’m sure there’s something more fun and monstrous that can be slotted into that role.

[@kid9893]

I believe this is actually how George RR Martin does his fantasy stuff for the most part. I think the first people's and the night walkers are the only exceptions but all the other weird fantasy races in his setting are actually humans that have evolved that way. They aren't shown in the TV shows but I know there's a race of dwarves in his setting that a buddy of mine has told me about who exactly evolved as you suggested, Island pygmyism. I think a natural explanation for orcs is also a great one, I didn't mean to imply they have to only be created as a species

[@Titan360]

IF you play Dark Sun, there are no Orcs. ...but, you could play as a Mul or Half-giant if you want a strong character. If you want an inhuman wild character, the Thrikeen give you an extra pair of arms and a much smaller chance of death by dehydration!

[@kid9893]

This is true! All of these are fantastic suggestions!

[@adammcclelland5746]

This was an amazing video. I will admit, it's hard to imagine an 'industrialist' culture for a species that typically takes a penalty to intelligence; even in 5E, and they promised to stop putting ability score penalties. Maybe it could work for a Starfinder home-brew. In that game they only take a penalty to Charisma. I think the Indonesia-Maori-German orcs you've conjured up are a cool and unique take on the Orcs. If I ever become a GM, I'm gonna follow your lead and see what real world cultural traits would fit with the races I allow at the table. Speaking of races, you should totally make a 'How to World Build with Elves' video.

[@kid9893]

Thank you for the comment. I think something that is important to remember when looking at ability scores is it's a small reduction. You don't need to be hyperintelligent to have industrialization, if another society discovers it They could definitely just steal it and perfect it.

[@madisonbrusca8702]

This was great !

[@kid9893]

Thank you. I'm glad you are checking out the older videos.

[@KingZNIN]

In my games orcs tend to split themselves into 3 main beliefs depending which god they follow. Obviously there's plenty of range between tribes and even kingdoms. One being a brutal and savage war god. These tend to be orcs that fits more into the monster category. They destroy, plunder, and torment others including other orcs. They tend to perform dangerous rituals to magically inhance their own bodies or possibly leave themselves on the can, or in the ground. Kinda depends on how badly they messed up. A more nomadic group that follows the stars, omens, sun gazing, fortune telling, use of "special herbs"(everything from artificial barbarian rages, seeing bits of the shadowfell, calling forth their ancestors, and even just a calming high), and the such. They're largely none problems but are absolutely untrustworthy... no it's more accurate to say they're unreliable they are strong enough to easily match 2 men no problem even without any extra stimulus but will leave a fight midway if they see a bad omen and even join the other side. This obviously has some kingdoms using them by faking omens, but if the tribe found out they would raise hell. And the third one is largely more "civilized" they form proper communities and believes in laws even if it's a bit brutal about it. The most common punishment isn't imprisonment but to be enslaved to who you were found to have wronged. Stoll bread? That's a week where you have to serve the baker, kill someone and you must serve the family for life or die if they'd prefer, and if the killer leaves or kills the family, or something they'll use the special paint to tattoo them to basically hunt them down and make examples of them as death is sometimes a mercy here. There's few restrictions to this and the "trials" are done horribly but at least it's efficient longest you'd have to wait would be 24 hours. For a runaway for a minor crime they'd have probably the equivalent of a cr 2-4 party going after them, and probably be dragged back to their master after a nasty beating, mid level crimes are probably going to end in a lose of a body part normally just a few fingers, but can be a hand, eye, and even tongue, bad crimes ends in death, and truly awful crimes ends in a slow and tortured death that's probably not going to end anytime soon unless it's by the victims hands. No two groups would worship the same god the exact same way, so it's fun for the party to see the goings on if they'd like.

[@IRMOKE]

Great content

[@kid9893]

Thank you my friend. I am glad you enjoyed it

[@realhuman4879]

In my world, orcs are a fungus that arrived to the world on a asteroid, they are basically orcs from warhammer

[@kid9893]

That's still a cool version of them. You can do a lot of interesting things with that still.

[@realhuman4879]

@@kid9893 thanks

[@SMunro]

Goblins are superpolinators. This means they can produce offspring with other species. Dogs (barghest), horses (pooka), bears (bugbears), elves (hobgoblins).

[@Nightmare704RY]

Funny you mentioned desert orcs, I made my own version of them being steps nomads with warfare similar of mongols and cults like the assashins.

[@kid9893]

That is very cool. Both are fun influences.

[@MazrimTaim]

Do you personally find the "noble savage" variant of orcs to be hackneyed at this point, or are you still down for the interpetation?

[@kid9893]

I think it depends on how it's written, if you have dances with wolves with Orcs of course it will feel hackneyed. In order to make them redeemable a lot of media has to tone down how orcs act which I think leads to them feeling just like green humans. In my own setting orcs are more human like but they still love fighting and breaking stuff. Even Orc cities have places full of trash that is meant to be broken and smashed and orc weddings always end with all the plates and cups destroyed. They aren't monsters but they are more destructive than humans.

[@MazrimTaim]

@@kid9893 Media tends to have a problem with sanitizing beliefs of all cultures, fictional or otherwise. I wish more stuff would commit to having a culture with some despicable practices, whether they're the protagonists or not.

[@kid9893]

@@MazrimTaim I don't think it's just sanitization, a lot of things that claim to be edgy also have the same issue. I think it comes from a lack of understanding as well. That's why so many settings have half orcs. There's no reason that half orcs need to exist in most places, early elder scrolls struggled with this idea until they decided they were going to have no mixed races. It does make the half elf race of Breton slightly incongruous but they realized having some mixed and others not mixed would get strange. You get people making charts over who can cross breed with who.

[@adammcclelland5746]

What's the name of the song playing in the background?

[@kid9893]

It is a song that a friend of mine made. I will see if I can upload it here for others to use since he owns it.

[@comentedonakeyboard]

Germanic themed Orcs might actualy be a return to what Tolkien had in his subconceous🤔

[@elgatochurro]

Have you a discord to discuss this more?

[@kid9893]

I have been trying to get one set up for a while. I will make a community post when its ready though my friend.

[@NewgirlNola]

In my setting, Orcs are invaders from another realm of existence, which makes them almost more like alien invaders that do not fit into the natural order of the world on a very fundamental level. I feel like this allows me to give them a unique culture and “humanize” them in a way, while still justifying portraying them as monsters, because they simply don’t belong in this world, and their intruding into it is threatening to conquer and destroy it.

[@VikingMale]

I use orcs like Tolkien did. Smaller than people, Hobbit height to almost man height, with sallow (yellowish white skin).

[@ThePrinceOfSpace413]

what happened to talking about Japanese rpg orcs?

[@kid9893]

I am not sure what you are referring to with this comment? The Japanese style orcs are covered with the monster/race dichotomy?

[@SMunro]

Linguistic Analysis of alphabet use in names and dictionaries are useful. Tolkiens Orcs (Black Speech) are U linguistic group. U linguistic group is rare- exclusivly the Mound building Kurgans and the Sumerian dictionary. The fall of civilizations have consequences.