Homebrew Orc (Axolotl) Species Details

"Carry me away, O Vita, My life flows into the earth, I cannot stay, O Vita, come what May. Though flesh is frail, O Vita, Orcs shall prevail, O Vita!" - Except from an Orc Funeral song. 

Orcs were initially created by Vita and his pairing with humans. Vita created three large trees for them to live in known as the three sisters. 3 separate tribes that did not get along very well. They would have long, nonlethal battles to prove which tribe was best. But eventually, one of the Trees had been destroyed by humans, afraid of the large humanoids. One was felled by a Godly battle between Vita and Mabaya. Eventually, the orcs had to learn to get along. As they all moved together into the final surviving Tree.

 

This caused a lot of fear and hatred towards outsiders. Orcs will rarely allow outsiders inside without good reason to. However, they are not cruel if they find someone attacked by bandits they will assist. Provide medical assistance if necessary.

 

Orcs vary in appearance, they are typically fairly tall, somewhere between 6ft and 10ft. Not every orc is incredibly muscular, but a skinny orc is fairly uncommon. Unlimited food and drink and training kinda does that to you. Orcs are usually various shades of green, yellow or red. Their eyes are usually shades of brown, black or green. Very rarely an orc may have blue eyes but it’s an uncommon trait. Their hair is usually fairly thick and curly, but an orc can have thin straight, hair texture can vary. Unless dyed Orc hair is usually red, black, gray, or white.

 

Orcs have a Shaman, this title is usually passed down from parent to child. But any Orc may challenge the Shaman for the right. Orcs do not believe one person should be above any other. A Shaman does the same amount of work as anyone else, whether it’s helping with harvest or joining a hunting party. A shaman may settle a disagreement between orcs but mainly they are meant to act as a bridge between the spiritual world and the physical, they hold millennia of knowledge and share this info with every new generation of orcs. The Shaman also handles any training for those with magic who wish to become spiritual warriors also known as Shujaa Wa-Roho.

 

Orcs believe everyone should contribute as they can, they do not have any use for money. Since every orc contributes in some way to the wellbeing of the mother tree everyone is entitled to what they need. If there is ever a food shortage however larger rations are given to children and hunters. Orcs care for the land around the mother tree, carefully harvesting plants and culling animals as needed. They maintain balance with the land around them, but they do tend to reject aspects of modernity and are slow to change. Orcs are also incredibly spiritual, one of the few races who believe in all the Gods. Although upon receiving their spiritual tattoos usually devote themselves to one particular God or grouping of Gods.

 

The Mother tree is a place of great power, a tree that has stood tall for millennia, Blessed with magic from the God of Orcs, Vita. The tree has less obvious paths and merely takes you where you’re thinking of. For example, thinking about going to the mess hall will take you there, or a particular shrine and you will arrive there.

Orc (Axolotl) Traits

Your orc character has the following racial traits.

Ability Score Increase

Your Strength score increases by 2 and your Constitution score increases by 1.

Age

Orcs reach adulthood at age 12 and live up to 50 years.

Size

Orcs are usually over 6 feet tall and weigh between 230 and 280 pounds. Your size is Medium.

Speed

Your base walking speed is 30 feet.

Darkvision

You can see in dim light within 60 feet of you as if it were bright light, and in darkness as if it were dim light. You can’t discern color in darkness, only shades of gray.

Aggressive Tactics

As a bonus action, you can move up to your speed toward an enemy of your choice that you can see or hear. You must end this move closer to the enemy than you started.

Primal Intuition

You have proficiency in two of the following skills of your choice: Animal Handling, Insight, Intimidation, Medicine, Nature, Perception, and Survival.

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.

Languages

You can speak, read, and write Common and Orc.