EPT
Alenna's presence was a balm unto Iris, a benediction that brought beauty and prosperity the likes of which few gods matched in all the ages of Iris. Yet Alenna did not come to Iris alone. Alongside the goddess of peace and love walked Morkul, the Storm of Carnage, who cast her vile shadow upon Iris just as Alenna graced it with her light. Save perhaps for Xa and Dys, there are no two gods of such opposing extremes in the multiverse than the Sisters of Chaos. Where Alenna's breath carried song and spring, Morkul's teeth inflicted woe and winter. Alenna's blessings bore fruit and fauna, and Morkul's curses conveyed rot and ruin. Wherever Alenna brought her light and beauty, Morkul followed, inflicting violence and terror to counteract her sister's benevolence. Yet Alenna never renounced her dear sister, never fought the one who brought so many of her designs to cruel and untimely ends. In the face of her sister's misdeeds, Alenna returned to the blasted soil, to the corpse-ridden fields burned bloody by her sister's wrath, and toiled anew to right her wrongs.
Scholars, theologists, and worshippers alike have wondered for centuries why Alenna suffered Morkul's villainy in silence. Some believe that origin of Alenna's virtue was her desire to change her hate-filled sibling, her hope that a world of pure radiance might one day convince Morkul to leave her dark path. Some hypothesize that Alenna and Morkul were not siblings at all, but an even more powerful god that was split down the axis separating good from evil. Many also ponder why Morkul sought to annihilate her sister's works at all. Some believe that, eons ago, Alenna called a terrible curse upon her sister and that her penance was to eternally spread all the love and kindness she failed to share with her own blood. Those who share that belief see Morkul's wrath as her thirst for vengeance, a thirst which compels Morkul to rend Alenna's aspirations asunder. Yet there are those who believe their relationship is quite simple: Morkul is jealous of Alenna's purity, and she cannot help but destroy that which illuminates her own failures.
Only once in the memory of mortals did Morkul pause in her endless tempest of slaughter. No one knows what caused her brief change of heart, though there are many theories. A want of companionship on her horrific path of death. A need for underlings, servants, or supplicants to worship at her altar of carnage. A deep loneliness that spurred a desire for someone, anyone, to comprehend her twisted mind. An aspiration antithetical to her vicious nature: to build, to give birth. Regardless of the notion that crossed her wicked mind, her deed is known. She created the Orcs. Unlike many of her divine peers, who possessed within themselves a innate understanding of creation, Morkul knew naught of making. To sculpt the Orcs, she mimicked the other children of Iris, recalling how their forms fit together by remembering how she tore them apart. She imbued her children with the traits she above all others: strength, fortitude, viciousness, and a vision of a world broken. Yet when Morkul completed her creation, she recoiled in hatred and disgust. Though her work was finished, she failed to see her true intentions within. She grew enraged and tried to return her "failure" to the clay and blood and bone from whence it came, but she could not. Unable to cull the race she birthed, she left them to survive on their own, godless in a land of gods.
Much of Iris believes that Orcs a savage, violent people. This is frequently accurate. Without the guidance of a benevolent god, most Orcs rely solely upon their instincts, instincts that direct them towards cruelty and bloodshed. As such, Orcish society is chiefly concerned with the supremacy of brute force, and leaders are typically the largest, fiercest, and most brutal members of the tribe. Such clans rarely establish permanent settlements, preferring to wander and pillage, living off their plunder before traveling to the next vulnerable village. While such behavior is common, it is hardly representative of all Orcs. Those Orcs who refuse to surrender to their inborn urges (or do so to a lesser extent) tend to be deeply spiritual, seeking divine guidance to fill the void left by their absent creator. Those Orcish priests and shamans who seek to regain the favor of Morkul, or who entreat with other deities of death and destruction, rank among the deadliest chiefs of the roaming tribes, for their murderous rampages are not merely for food and shelter, but ritualistic slaughters to appease their silent maker or a god of similar predilections. Some Orcs discover the calming influence of kinder spirits, who influence Orcish bands to settle into smaller, agricultural communities. These small villages are usually isolated from those of other races, who frequently assume that the peaceful Orcs are the same as their rage-filled brethren and attack on sight. Occasionally, amicable Orcish communities ally with nearby towns and develop mutually-beneficial trading agreements or other friendly arrangements. It is through these genial relations that the majority of Half-Orcs are born.
The half-breed children of an oft-maligned race, few Half-Orcs are allowed to live peaceful or even safe lives. Many suffer the same prejudices as their full-blooded cousins or worse, for there are many on Iris (whether they would admit it or not) who prefer the simple fear of an Orcish "savage" to the near-human visage of a Half-Orc and the challenging middle-ground they represent. Despite the suspicion of the masses, there are many Half-Orcs who feel none of the latent rage of their Orcish parents. As such, many Half-Orcs are more in touch with their spiritual natures than even their religiously-inclined Orcish contemporaries, for their non-Orc lineage typically carries a greater connection to the divine than their Orcish blood ever could. Yet there are plenty of Half-Orcs who seethe with Morkul's wrath, and while those who resist its lure can live as peaceably as any other virtuous mortal, some seek out savagery and chaos, allowing their god-given furor to guide their destinies.
Though common knowledge asserts that savage Orcs do not build, some claim that one such city exists. None profess to have seen this fearsome place, but those who have overheard the clandestine whispers of Orcish warbands speak of a land of fire and drums from which the untold Orcish legions issue. All else that is known of this city is its name, a name spoken in secret for fear of vicious reprisal: Joruk-Az, the Citadel of Bones.
Orcs get a bad rap. Much like Dwarves and Halflings, who are shoved into their own stereotypical roles, Orcs almost always end up as the bad guys. Rare is the Orc who assumes the role of the hero, as most are relegated to the position of evil henchman or lackey. Take Tolkien for example: not only are all Orcs utterly evil (and male, for that matter), they are almost all subservient to higher powers such as Saruman and Sauron (the one exception being Azog, but The Hobbit movies are bad so... whatever). An exclusive attachment to stupidity, brutality, and filth is not a fate I want for any race on Iris, especially for one that is connected to a player-character race, and, for the record, everything I'm saying about Orcs also applies to Half-Orcs. Of course, I have no intention to play a campaign without an evil Orcish contingent, but, as with all things in Iris, I want to strive for greater nuance. After all, it makes the stories far more interesting.
While good storytelling isn't something I frequently associate with Blizzard, the Orcs of Iris are heavily influenced by the Orcs of the Warcraft universe. One of my favorite elements of Warcraft III: Reign of Chaos was one of its (comparatively) minor storylines: Thrall's quest for Orcish salvation and its conflict with Grommash's temptation towards the Orcs' historically-evil roots. This storyline single-handedly demonstrated that Orcs were not the one-dimensional brutes that the franchise depicted up to that point. My other primary influence for the lore of Iris' Orcs is a compelling post I noticed while browsing r/rpg. This spectacular blog sought to flesh out the origins of Orcish savagery in order to provide a better context for their antagonistic natures than "they're all evil." The result is fascinating. The blogger illustrates an Orcish culture in which violence is practically a dialect because that's how they believe their gods speak to them. It's worth a read if you're a fan of fantasy worlds (as is the rest of the blog). As I didn't want to steal this concept entirely, I went in a slightly different direction for the Orcs of Iris. Morkul, a goddess wholly unfamiliar with the act of creation, hated her "failed" children, even though they were imbued with some of her destructive essence. However, instead of demanding pain and sacrifice from her creations, Morkul abandoned them entirely, leaving them bereft of the divine leadership afforded the rest of the Animata. This departure creates the "Thrall vs. Grommash" dichotomy on Iris, though now this struggle is far more internal than the Warcraft III version. Orcs on Iris can fight against their murderous instincts or indulge in their blood-born fury. They can choose to seek out the dark blessings of Morkul, to find solace in the arms of a deity more receptive of their worship, or to forsake the gods just as they were forsaken. In a way, the Orcs are among the most "free" of the Animata, for few have been so lightly burdened by divine influence. Were it not for the lingering shadow of Morkul's chaos, Orcs would be as directionless as Humans, another notably ungoverned race. Perhaps this is why most Half-Orcs are also Half-Human; there is more kinship between the two races than meets the eye.
I've always found the idea that all Half-Orcs (or Half-Elves, for that matter) have Human ancestry to be rather limiting. In fairness, this restriction is at least partly logistical: mating between Medium and Small creatures seems unlikely to work in all but the rarest of circumstances.* With Gnomes, Dwarves, and Halflings effectively ruled out, that brings us to Elves. However, this other long-standing D&D race canonically feuded with the Orcs, preventing the option of Half-Orc/Half-Elf because lore said so. That being said, no such restriction exists on Iris. In fact, I'd be hard pressed to rule out the existence of a Half-Elf/Half-Tiefling somewhere in the world, if for no other reason than Romeo and Juliet is a thing. In the 5E PC races, only the Dragonborn and the Tieflings remain. Unfortunately, most Dragonborn retain some ironic notion of Draconic purity, while the Tieflings of Iris are far too xenophobic and obsessed with their own supremacy to consort with "lesser" races. That being said, these generalities hardly speak for every member of each race, so it's not impossible for a Half-Orc to share the blood of a non-Human species. While Half-Orc/Half-Human remains the most common origin for any given Half-Orc, there's no reason to restrict it to that combination alone. Of course, changing a Half-Orc's ancestry requires some trait-tweaking, but with the help of an awesome PC-race creation guide that I also found on Reddit, such fixes should be straightforward (I've included some examples below). Establishing your character's atypical backstory should require some narrative acrobatics, but that's between you and your DM.
Start with the standard D&D 5E Half-Orc racial traits and adjust depending on the selection.
- Half-Dwarf: Remove Savage Attacks. Add Dwarven Combat Training and Dwarven Speed (25 ft., Not slowed by Heavy Armor). -1 STR, +1 CON. [Subrace bonuses remain the same]
- Half-Elf: Remove Savage Attacks and Menacing. Add Fey Ancestry and Keen Senses. -1 STR, +1 DEX. [Subrace bonuses remain the same]
- Half-Halfling: Remove Menacing. Add Lucky and Brave. Change to Medium. -1 STR, +1 DEX. [Lightfoot get another +1 DEX instead of Naturally Stealthy]
- Half-Gnome: Remove Relentless Endurance and Savage Attacks. Add Gnome Cunning. Change to Medium. -1 STR, +1 INT. [Subrace bonuses remain the same]
- Half-Tiefling: Remove Relentless Endurance and Menacing. Add Infernal Legacy. -1 STR, +1 CHA
- Half-Dragonborn: Remove Savage Attacks and Menacing. Add Breath Weapon.
With the existence of two distinct groups of Orcs on Iris (the peaceful and the bloodthirsty), some natural differences in typical class selection arise. Peaceful Orcs (and Half-Orcs) rarely follow cultural norms outside of those ascribed by their local communities, so there are no classes in particular that are frowned upon or forbidden. The class most commonly taken by peaceful Orcs is Cleric, as most of them still feel the substantial loss of Morkul’s absence. Orcs in warbands, as well as the Half-Orcs that join them, tend toward classes that fit within the savage hierarchy of power that drives them. Fighters and Barbarians can be found in such tribes in great numbers, as they provide Orcs with ample opportunities to prove their might in battle. There are also plenty of Rogues within the roving bands, but they must be exceptionally devious to survive through trickery instead of brute force. The spiritual leaders of Orcish warbands are most frequently Clerics, Sorcerers, or Warlocks. Oddly enough, Orcs who claim to be Clerics of Morkul are typically Sorcerers or Warlocks (if not charlatans). Orc Sorcerers often mistake their natural abilities to be a gift from the Storm of Carnage herself (who gives no gifts and hears no prayers), while Orc Warlocks might believe they are contracting with Morkul, when in reality their power is provided by a deceitful yet powerful entity who wishes to use its supplicants to further its own ends. True Orc Clerics are not the misguided adherents of Morkul, but serve other vicious gods who care not from whom their sacrifices come. Orc Warlocks who are aware of the true source of their powers act similarly and contract with a god or other powerful being that can aid them in satiating their inner rage. Genuine Orc Sorcerers need no guidance from the gods and often lord his fact over the other members of their tribes, asserting that their own power makes them stronger than any slave to the spirits. Evil Orcs can be Druids, but those Orcs rarely remain with their warbands, choosing instead to express their fury as an avatar of Iris' own wrath. Orcish Rangers also seek greater solitude than might be found in a warband, preferring to hunt their prey alone. Bards, Monks, Paladins, Wizards are incredibly rare within the violent Orcish groups, as the discipline and concentration required for these paths are all but impossible to maintain in the chaotic environments. The Orc that can retain such unerring focus would be terrifying indeed.
Next time on Building Iris, we soar beside wyrms most ancient and treat with their prideful offspring, the Dragonborn.
* If someone can explain to me how Hagrid happened, I'm all ears.
This worldbuilding post and quite a few more can be found on the N3rd Dimension!
