Better Orcs, Better Fantasy
Something I've got on my back burner right now is an attempt to develop a fantasy setting. Unsurprisingly, one of the main ideas is for the setting to be usable in homebrew D&D games, but other fantasy games could be played there, or I could write a book, etc. Whatever the eventual usage, the point is that I want to create a new fantasy world that would be familiar to gamers while offering something of value beyond being "generic fantasy land".
To be a familiar fantasy world, there are some key tropes that need to be present: prevalent magic, low tech level, and fantastic creatures — including various flavors of humanoids. That last bit is what I'm getting into today, as fantasy gaming has a bit of a history with playable races. I'm not doing a deep dive right now into the racism and sexual violence built into "classic" notions of fantasy races, as mine is not the best voice to listen to on those fronts. Suffice it to say that fantasy races need attention (especially when crafting an entire world), so figuring out the identity and roles of such creatures is a primary task in my current endeavor.
There are a lot of beloved fantasy races, so today let's zero in on just one of them: orcs. Orcs have a lot of that history that I said I'm not getting into, so let's focus on what's to be done. How do we make orcs feel distinct and cool and interesting? How do we do that while preserving what's already loved about them and simultaneously divorcing them from what's been done wrong in the past? I'm not totally sure, but I've got some ideas. Like I said in my inaugural post, this is gonna be a space where I think out loud, so here we go.
Near as I can tell, a lot of what people like about orcs (or half-orcs; more on that later) is their strength. They're almost always "the strong race" in fantasy games (D&D included), and the orc/half-orc barbarian is a famous trope of an adventuring party. Thus, it seems to me that orcish strength is what we want to preserve and empower in a new setting.
We just need to do it without making them dumb brutes who embody stupidity and violence.
How do we do that? Well, my idea is to look at ancient Greece. What if orc culture was centered around physical self-development, striving toward growth and strength through martial and athletic endeavors? Maybe the orcish empire is the one that invents the Olympics. Maybe orcish cities display statues showing off the chiseled abs of legendary orcs who slew demons and monsters. Maybe the classic orc barbarian is not so much a mindless ball of rage, but rather a skilled warrior-poet whose martial pursuits include pushing themselves beyond normal physical limits.
That would allow us to keep the beloved familiarity of orcs — a focus on strength and a place for the barbarian — while also offering a fresh twist: orcs would also be a popular race for bards (epic poems) and monks (the combination of philosophy and martial prowess). Now we've turned stereotypical orc-ness on its head while still preserving the "strong race" role that orcs are loved for.
Sidebar regarding half-orcs:
The inclusion of half-orcs is just weird. Like, why do orcs and humans mix into a separate race, but not orcs and elves? Orcs and halflings? Elves and tieflings? Gnomes and lizardfolk? Seriously, it makes zero sense that exactly two hybrid races (human/orc and human/elf) exist in so many fantasy worlds. Combined with the old-school lore's flirtation with some pretty nasty misogyny, there's no reason I can see to include half-orcs as a race. Instead, in my games (and this setting, if I ever finish it) there are no half-orcs, and players can make an orc character by using the half-orc player stats. Simple as that.
Anyway, that's it for now. Since race in fantasy is kind of a big issue and I don't have it all figured out, I'll likely be doing lots of posts like these, covering all (or at least, a lot) of the humanoid races in classic/D&D fantasy. Feels daunting, but at least that means I'll definitely have content for a while.
Take care of yourselves, okay?
To be a familiar fantasy world, there are some key tropes that need to be present: prevalent magic, low tech level, and fantastic creatures — including various flavors of humanoids. That last bit is what I'm getting into today, as fantasy gaming has a bit of a history with playable races. I'm not doing a deep dive right now into the racism and sexual violence built into "classic" notions of fantasy races, as mine is not the best voice to listen to on those fronts. Suffice it to say that fantasy races need attention (especially when crafting an entire world), so figuring out the identity and roles of such creatures is a primary task in my current endeavor.
There are a lot of beloved fantasy races, so today let's zero in on just one of them: orcs. Orcs have a lot of that history that I said I'm not getting into, so let's focus on what's to be done. How do we make orcs feel distinct and cool and interesting? How do we do that while preserving what's already loved about them and simultaneously divorcing them from what's been done wrong in the past? I'm not totally sure, but I've got some ideas. Like I said in my inaugural post, this is gonna be a space where I think out loud, so here we go.
Near as I can tell, a lot of what people like about orcs (or half-orcs; more on that later) is their strength. They're almost always "the strong race" in fantasy games (D&D included), and the orc/half-orc barbarian is a famous trope of an adventuring party. Thus, it seems to me that orcish strength is what we want to preserve and empower in a new setting.
We just need to do it without making them dumb brutes who embody stupidity and violence.
How do we do that? Well, my idea is to look at ancient Greece. What if orc culture was centered around physical self-development, striving toward growth and strength through martial and athletic endeavors? Maybe the orcish empire is the one that invents the Olympics. Maybe orcish cities display statues showing off the chiseled abs of legendary orcs who slew demons and monsters. Maybe the classic orc barbarian is not so much a mindless ball of rage, but rather a skilled warrior-poet whose martial pursuits include pushing themselves beyond normal physical limits.
That would allow us to keep the beloved familiarity of orcs — a focus on strength and a place for the barbarian — while also offering a fresh twist: orcs would also be a popular race for bards (epic poems) and monks (the combination of philosophy and martial prowess). Now we've turned stereotypical orc-ness on its head while still preserving the "strong race" role that orcs are loved for.
Sidebar regarding half-orcs:
The inclusion of half-orcs is just weird. Like, why do orcs and humans mix into a separate race, but not orcs and elves? Orcs and halflings? Elves and tieflings? Gnomes and lizardfolk? Seriously, it makes zero sense that exactly two hybrid races (human/orc and human/elf) exist in so many fantasy worlds. Combined with the old-school lore's flirtation with some pretty nasty misogyny, there's no reason I can see to include half-orcs as a race. Instead, in my games (and this setting, if I ever finish it) there are no half-orcs, and players can make an orc character by using the half-orc player stats. Simple as that.
Anyway, that's it for now. Since race in fantasy is kind of a big issue and I don't have it all figured out, I'll likely be doing lots of posts like these, covering all (or at least, a lot) of the humanoid races in classic/D&D fantasy. Feels daunting, but at least that means I'll definitely have content for a while.
Take care of yourselves, okay?
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