Orc

Orc

(Creature)

Type

Humanoid
(orc)

CR

By class level

Environment

Any (Apostae)

Alignment

LG	NG	CG
LN	N	CN
LE	NE	CE

Adjective

orc

Source: Alien Archive 2, pg(s). 90-91

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Orcs are a rare race of savage, violent humanoids who were once numerous on Golarion before the Gap. Today, most orcs live on Apostae as slaves or second-class citizens, and are socially conditioned to serve the ruling drow.

Appearance

Orcs are large, muscular humanoids with prominent tusks and pointed ears. Most orcs stand 6 feet tall and weigh at least 200 pounds.

Society

The majority of orcs live as slaves under the drow; most of the rest are second-class citizens and still serve the drow, and are kept isolated and ignorant of outside opportunities by drow propaganda. Compared to their pre-Gap ancestors, modern orcs have been influenced by centuries of drow social engineering. Capable young orcs are required to help their less fortunate friends, and old or weak orcs have to teach children valuable skills and how to respect their betters. Orc education is accompanied by a system of reward and punishment, extensively conditioning orc children to take pleasure in their future jobs. These enclaves are overseen by drow masters, aided by half-orcs and elder orcs who are allowed to retire to teaching positions as a reward for loyal service. Mature orcs are sent serve the drow house to which they belong.

Due to their conditioned minds, most orcs are ideally suited to and highly confident in their duties, and are completely 'loyal' to their drow masters. Even when brought into other cultures, they have difficulty integrating and only interact with others when necessary. When there is no pecking order, orcs might struggle to find their position in the nonexistent hierarchy.

Only a rare few orcs manage to completely break free of the social conditioning to form violent clans, but they still display the same cultural structure due to the pervasiveness of the drow social engineering. These orcs teach their young with brutal methods of reward and punishment. Strong orcs have the right to take on prestigious tasks and refuse those that they consider beneath them, leaving them to the young and weak.