W h eth er united under the leadership o f a m ighty
w arlock or having fought to a standstill after years
T h e w a r c h ie f M h u r r e n r o u s e d h im s e l f f r o m h is
sleeping-furs and his women and pulled a short hauberk
of heavy steel rings over his thick, well-muscled torso. He
usually rose before most of his warriors, since he had a
strong streak of human blood in him, and he found the
daylight less bothersome than most of his tribe did. Among
the Bloody Skulls, a warrior wasjudged by his strength, his
fierceness, and his wits. Human ancestry was no blemish
against a warrior—provided he was every bit as strong,
enduring, and bloodthirsty as hisfull-blooded kin. Half-
orcs who were weaker than their orc comrades didn't last
long among the Bloody Skulls or any other orc tribe for
that matter. But it was often true that a bit of human blood
gave a warriorjust the right mix of cunning, ambition, and
self-discipline to go far indeed, as Mhurren had. He was
master of a tribe that could muster two thousand spears,
and the strongest chief in Thar.
—R ich a r d Baker, Swordmage
o f conflict, o r c and hum an tribes som etim es form
alliances, join in g forces into a larger horde to the terror
o f civilized lands nearby. W h en th ese alliances are
sea led by m arriages, h alf-orcs are born. S o m e h alf-orcs
rise to b e c o m e proud chiefs o f o rc tribes, their hum an
b lood giving them an edge over their fu ll-blooded o rc
rivals. S o m e venture into the w orld to prove their w orth
am ong hum ans and other m ore civilized races. M any o f
these b e c o m e adventurers, achieving greatness for their
m ighty d eed s and notoriety for their barbaric custom s
and savage fury.
Sc a r r e d a n d St r o n g
H alf-orcs’ grayish pigm entation, slopin g foreheads,
jutting ja w s, prom inent teeth, and tow ering builds m ake
their orcish heritage plain for all to see. H alf-orcs stand
betw een 6 and 7 feet tall and usually w eigh betw een
180 and 2 5 0 pounds.
Orc s regard battle sca rs as tokens o f pride and
ornam ental sca rs as things o f beauty. Other scars,
though, m ark an orc or h alf-orc as a form er slave or
a disgraced exile. Any half-orc w h o has lived am ong
or near orc s has scars, w hether they are m arks o f
hum iliation or o f pride, recou ntin g their past exploits
and injuries. Such a half-orc living am ong hum ans might
display these scars proudly or hide them in sham e.
T h e M a r k o f G r u u m sh
T h e on e-eyed god G ruum sh created the orc s, and even
th ose orc s w h o turn away from his w orsh ip ca n ’t fully
esca p e his influence. T h e sa m e is true o f half-orcs,
though their hum an b lood m od erates the im pact o f their
orcish heritage. S om e h alf-orcs hear the w h isp ers o f
G ruum sh in their dream s, calling them to unleash the
rage that sim m ers w ithin them . O thers feel G ru u m sh ’s

exultation w h en they join in m elee com bat—and either
exult along w ith him or shiver w ith fear and loathing.
H alf-orcs are not evil by nature, but evil d o e s lurk w ithin
them , w hether they em brace it or rebel against it.
B eyond the rage o f G ruum sh, h alf-orcs feel em otion
pow erfully. R a ge d oesn ’t ju st quicken their pulse, it
m akes their b od ies burn. A n insult stings like acid,
and sa d n ess saps their strength. But they laugh loudly
and heartily, and sim ple b od ily p lea su res—feasting,
drinking, w restling, drum m ing, and w ild dancing—fill
their hearts w ith joy. Th ey tend to be short-tem pered
and som etim es sullen, m ore in clined to action than
contem plation and to fighting than arguing. T h e m ost
accom p lish ed h alf-orcs are th ose w ith en ough self-
con trol to get by in a civilized land.
T r ibe s a n d Sl u m s
H alf-orcs m ost often live a m on g orc s. O f the other races,
hum ans are m ost likely to a ccept half-orcs, and half-
orcs alm ost always live in hum an lands w hen not living
am ong orc tribes. W h eth er proving th em selves am ong
rough barbarian tribes or scrabblin g to survive in the
slum s o f larger cities, h alf-orcs get by on their physical
might, their endurance, and the sh eer determ ination
they inherit from their hum an ancestry.
H a l f -O r c Na me s
H alf-orcs usually have n am es appropriate to the culture
in w h ich they w ere raised. A h alf-orc w h o w ants to fit in
am ong hum ans might trade an o r c nam e for a hum an
nam e. S o m e h alf-orcs w ith hum an n am es decide to
adopt a guttural o r c n am e b eca u se they think it m akes
them m ore intim idating.
Male Orc Names: D ench, Feng, Gell, Henk, H olg, Imsh,
Keth, K rusk, M hurren, Ront, Shum p, T h ok k
Female O rc Names: Baggi, Em en, Engong, Kansif,
Myev, N eega, Ovak, O w nka, Shautha, Sutha, Vola,
Volen, Yevelda
H a l f -O r c Tr a it s
Y our h alf-orc character has certain traits deriving from
your ore ancestry.
hate orcs. Some are reserved, trying not to draw attention to
themselves. A few demonstrate piety and good-heartedness
as publicly as they can (whether or not such demonstrations
are genuine). And some simply try to be so tough that others
just avoid them.
Ability Score Increase. Your Strength score
in creases by 2, and your Constitution sco re
in creases by 1.
Age. H alf-orcs m ature a little faster than hum ans,
reachin g adulthood around age 14. Th ey age
noticeably faster and rarely live longer than 75 years.
Alignment. H alf-orcs inherit a tendency toward ch a os
from their orc parents and are not strongly inclined
tow ard g ood. H alf-orcs raised am ong ores and w illing
to live out their lives am ong them are usually evil.
Size. H alf-orcs are som ew h at larger and bulkier than
hum ans, and they range from 5 to w ell over 6 feet tall.
Your size is M edium .
Speed. Your base w alk in g sp eed is 30 feet.
Darkvision. T h an ks to your o r c blood, you have
su perior vision in dark and dim condition s. You can
see in dim light w ithin 60 feet o f you as if it w ere bright
light, and in darkn ess as if it w ere dim light. You can't
discern color in darkness, only sh ades o f gray.
Menacing. You gain proficiency in the
Intim idation skill.
Relentless Endurance. W h en you are redu ced to
0 hit points but n ot k illed outright, you can drop to 1 hit
point instead. You ca n ’t use this feature again until you
finish a lon g rest.
Savage Attacks. W h en you sco re a critical hit with
a m elee w eapon attack, you can roll one o f the w eapon ’s
dam age dice on e additional tim e and add it to the extra
dam age o f the critical hit.
Languages. You can speak, read, and
w rite C om m on and O rc . O rc is a
harsh, grating language with
hard consonants. It has
no script o f its ow n
but is w ritten in the
D w arvish script.