As the video doesn't offer closed captioning here is a writeup for any hard of hearing or deaf persons (and anyone else really).
Orc are a 1/4 of 1 CR humanoid found on page 244-247 of the Monster Manual.
They have high strength and constitution (Str 16 (+3) Con (+3) but a lower more average Dex 12(+1). This is the physical profile of a melee tank. (Melee Tank is just a familiar term I'm using here to describe a creature that gets into melee combat, hits things and doesn't really move around from that)
In Combat: Orcs will try to begin combat between 30 to 60 feet away. They will use all their movement to get to their target including using their Aggressive trait as a bonus action to cover the distance. (**Aggressive. As a bonus action, the orc can move up to its speed toward a hostile creature that it can see.**). If they are unable to make it to melee range using their movement and Aggressive trait then they will get as close as possible to and use their javelins. The monster manual says to assume each creature carries 2d4 pieces of thrown ammunition, so just assume each orc carries 4 javelins. Once in melee range the orc will attack its target with its greataxe.
Orcs with a below average Intelligence of 7 (-2), are not really smart enough to deviate from this tactic very much. As orcs are living creatures and care about continuing to live and because they understand combat enough to know when they are beat, I assume they suffer a morale failure at 1/4 of its hit points (approx 4 hp). At that point the orc is going to try to leave combat either to run away (if 1/2 its ally have fled or are down) or to back away and throw javelins into melee combat.
Orcs do however have proficiency into a social skill Charism Intimidation (+2). Since we assume if its in the stat block that it is there for a reason and you are intended to use it, then you as a DM should create opportunities for some kind of social interaction with them. Being Intimidation however that interaction will be mostly threats, yelling and insults. You can see a great example of this in the Fell's Five comic series when the party is besieged by a company of orcs.
Orogs are a 2 CR humanoid creature. Treat them like upgraded orcs. If you ever played any MMORPG's think of them as like they have a silver frame around their picture or like they are the lieutenant version of an orc. They are stronger and smarter but function the exact same way. They would suffer a morale failure at 1/4 their hit points (approx 11 hp) and try to leave combat then.
If the orog has the silver lieutenant frame around it, then the Orc War Chief has the golden boss frame around it. An Orc War Chief is a CR 4 humanoid and is an even tougher version of an orc. They function the exact same way as a regular orc with the addition of two abilities:
Gruumsh's Fury. a flat damage boost that you don't have to do anything for.
Battle Cry (1/Day). Each creature ofthe war chief's choice that is within 30 feet of it, can hear it, and not already affected by Battle Cry gain advantage on attack rolls until the start of the war chief's next turn. The war chiefcan then make one attack as a bonus action.
So here is how this looks in combat. The War Chief funs into melee with the rest of the orcs in its group but on the first round of combat it uses its action to use Battle Cry, trying to get as many of its allies within the 30 foot radius as it can. Thereafter it behaves like a standard orc. The Orc War Chief will suffer a morale failure at 1/4 of its hit points (approx 24 hp).
***Keep in mind Orcs can be fanatical and worship Gruumish, the orc god of slaughter and war. Its up to you the DM to determine if any of the orcs in an encounter suffer a morale failure and leave combat. Some orcs may fight to the death simply to appease their god or as a mark of honour.
TheOrc Eye of Gruumsh is an orc battle cleric that functions more as a buffer/de-buffer since they don't have any healing spells. They have 7 spells total but I will only cover the ones I believe are relevant to combat. Bless, Spiritual Weapon and Command.
An Eye of Gruumsh acts like a normal orc at the start of combat rising to melee, BUT they will stay 15 to 30 feet back from the front lines and cast Bless on the first round getting itself and its most powerful allies in the effect (3 targets total for Bless). On the second round of combat it uses its bonus action to cast Spiritual Weapon (form of a spear - Gruumsh favoured weapon) and attack with the spell & uses the hold action to hold an attack in case any enemy tries to engage it in melee combat. On the third round of combat the Eye of Gruumsh again uses the hold action to cast the Command spell so that it can interrupt other creatures turns with the commands to de-buff them:
Drop: The target drops whatever it is holding and then ends its turn. - Cast at the beginning of an enemies turn using the hold action.
Grovel: The target falls prone and then ends its turn. - Cast at beginning of enemies our using the hold action if the enemy is in melee combat with an ally. The orcs will gain advantage on melee attacks against the prone creature.
Approach: The target moves toward you by the shortest and most direct route, ending its turn if it moves within 5 feet of you --OR-- Flee: The target spends its turn moving away from you by the fastest available means. - against targets engaged with multiple orcs so they trigger multiple opportunity attacks when they leave melee or to have them run over traps or hazards in the area.
The Eye of Gruumsh will continue to do this on subsequent rounds until it is out of spell slots (also casting Command with its remaining 2nd level spell which will effect and additional enemy), after which it engages in melee combat with the rest of its party.
And that's it. A quick and dirty walkthrough of how to use orcs in combat. Keep in mind this is just a suggestion of how to use them to simplify what to do in combat and to add a little strategy into your encounters. Anyone can use these tips but they are directed at people who are new DM-ing and to some disabled friends who want to get into D&D and aren't sure how to run their monster encounters. But even some experienced DM's and players can still get something from these tips. Feel free to use some, all or none of what I say. So long as you and the players are having fun that is all that matters to me. The Rule of Fun beats anything I or anyone else could say or give advice on. We love you all very much, stay healthy and safe and don't forget to keep loving eachother.
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Check out my Disabled & Dragons Youtube Channel for 5e Monster and Player Tactics. Helping the Disabled Community and Players and DM’s (both new and experienced) get into D&D. Plus there is a talking Dragon named Quill.
This weeks monster tactics video covers Orcs. You can find it at https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TUcruJovahM&t=01s
As the video doesn't offer closed captioning here is a writeup for any hard of hearing or deaf persons (and anyone else really).
Orc are a 1/4 of 1 CR humanoid found on page 244-247 of the Monster Manual.
They have high strength and constitution (Str 16 (+3) Con (+3) but a lower more average Dex 12(+1). This is the physical profile of a melee tank. (Melee Tank is just a familiar term I'm using here to describe a creature that gets into melee combat, hits things and doesn't really move around from that)
In Combat: Orcs will try to begin combat between 30 to 60 feet away. They will use all their movement to get to their target including using their Aggressive trait as a bonus action to cover the distance. (**Aggressive. As a bonus action, the orc can move up to its speed toward a hostile creature that it can see.**). If they are unable to make it to melee range using their movement and Aggressive trait then they will get as close as possible to and use their javelins. The monster manual says to assume each creature carries 2d4 pieces of thrown ammunition, so just assume each orc carries 4 javelins. Once in melee range the orc will attack its target with its greataxe.
Orcs with a below average Intelligence of 7 (-2), are not really smart enough to deviate from this tactic very much. As orcs are living creatures and care about continuing to live and because they understand combat enough to know when they are beat, I assume they suffer a morale failure at 1/4 of its hit points (approx 4 hp). At that point the orc is going to try to leave combat either to run away (if 1/2 its ally have fled or are down) or to back away and throw javelins into melee combat.
Orcs do however have proficiency into a social skill Charism Intimidation (+2). Since we assume if its in the stat block that it is there for a reason and you are intended to use it, then you as a DM should create opportunities for some kind of social interaction with them. Being Intimidation however that interaction will be mostly threats, yelling and insults. You can see a great example of this in the Fell's Five comic series when the party is besieged by a company of orcs.
Orogs are a 2 CR humanoid creature. Treat them like upgraded orcs. If you ever played any MMORPG's think of them as like they have a silver frame around their picture or like they are the lieutenant version of an orc. They are stronger and smarter but function the exact same way. They would suffer a morale failure at 1/4 their hit points (approx 11 hp) and try to leave combat then.
If the orog has the silver lieutenant frame around it, then the Orc War Chief has the golden boss frame around it. An Orc War Chief is a CR 4 humanoid and is an even tougher version of an orc. They function the exact same way as a regular orc with the addition of two abilities:
So here is how this looks in combat. The War Chief funs into melee with the rest of the orcs in its group but on the first round of combat it uses its action to use Battle Cry, trying to get as many of its allies within the 30 foot radius as it can. Thereafter it behaves like a standard orc. The Orc War Chief will suffer a morale failure at 1/4 of its hit points (approx 24 hp).
***Keep in mind Orcs can be fanatical and worship Gruumish, the orc god of slaughter and war. Its up to you the DM to determine if any of the orcs in an encounter suffer a morale failure and leave combat. Some orcs may fight to the death simply to appease their god or as a mark of honour.
The Orc Eye of Gruumsh is an orc battle cleric that functions more as a buffer/de-buffer since they don't have any healing spells. They have 7 spells total but I will only cover the ones I believe are relevant to combat. Bless, Spiritual Weapon and Command.
An Eye of Gruumsh acts like a normal orc at the start of combat rising to melee, BUT they will stay 15 to 30 feet back from the front lines and cast Bless on the first round getting itself and its most powerful allies in the effect (3 targets total for Bless). On the second round of combat it uses its bonus action to cast Spiritual Weapon (form of a spear - Gruumsh favoured weapon) and attack with the spell & uses the hold action to hold an attack in case any enemy tries to engage it in melee combat. On the third round of combat the Eye of Gruumsh again uses the hold action to cast the Command spell so that it can interrupt other creatures turns with the commands to de-buff them:
The Eye of Gruumsh will continue to do this on subsequent rounds until it is out of spell slots (also casting Command with its remaining 2nd level spell which will effect and additional enemy), after which it engages in melee combat with the rest of its party.
And that's it. A quick and dirty walkthrough of how to use orcs in combat. Keep in mind this is just a suggestion of how to use them to simplify what to do in combat and to add a little strategy into your encounters. Anyone can use these tips but they are directed at people who are new DM-ing and to some disabled friends who want to get into D&D and aren't sure how to run their monster encounters. But even some experienced DM's and players can still get something from these tips. Feel free to use some, all or none of what I say. So long as you and the players are having fun that is all that matters to me. The Rule of Fun beats anything I or anyone else could say or give advice on. We love you all very much, stay healthy and safe and don't forget to keep loving eachother.
Check out my Disabled & Dragons Youtube Channel for 5e Monster and Player Tactics. Helping the Disabled Community and Players and DM’s (both new and experienced) get into D&D. Plus there is a talking Dragon named Quill.
https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCPPmyTI0tZ6nM-bzY0IG3ww