Half-Orc

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Once, far into the murky past, the half-orc was a rare, abominable thing, something feared and reviled, considered the result of an unspeakable act. Such infants of the race were often destroyed upon birth. But those times are long since past, now the half-orc is a race unto itself and a common sight amidst the Waning Lands.   Half-orc’s skin can come in a variety of hues, through grey to rust-red. They possess jutting jaws, prominent teeth and towering builds from their orc heritage and stand at 5 to 7 feet tall.   Most half-orcs live within their own communities, or integrated with the other races of the Waning Lands. Some however live amongst orcs, a savage society of constant warfare and ritualistic slaughter and combat, who regard battle scars as tokens of pride and ornamental scars as things of beauty, though other scars may mark an orc or half-orc as a former slave or a disgraced exile. Any half-orc who has lived amongst or near orcs has scars, whether they are marks of humiliation or of pride, recounting their past exploits and injuries. Such a half-orc having escaped such a society might display these scars proudly or hide them in shame. Despite their human heritage half-orcs are looked upon fondly by many of the high evfyl, who though still beneath them, view their strength and will as admirable qualities, a view strengthened through a history of alliances between the two races, to the point where half-orc slaves are outlawed amidst the Vir’xhur empire, and a foreign legion of half-orcs serves freely as auxiliary to their army.  

Traits:

  Age. Half-orcs mature a little faster than humans, reaching adulthood around age 14. They age noticeably faster and rarely live longer than 75 years.   Size. Half-orcs are somewhat larger and bulkier than humans, and they range from 5 to well over 6 feet tall. Your size is Medium.   Speed. Your base walking speed is 30 feet.   Menacing. You gain proficiency in the Intimidation skill.   Relentless Endurance. When you are reduced to 0 hit points but not killed outright, you can drop to 1 hit point instead. You can’t use this feature again until you finish a long rest.   Savage Attacks. When you score a critical hit with a melee weapon attack, you can roll one of the weapon’s damage dice one additional time and add it to the extra damage of the critical hit.   Languages. You can speak, read, and write Common. You can speak Orc.