Excerpts: Orcs

ORCS WORSHIP GRUUMSH, THE ONE-EYED GOD OF SLAUGHTER, and are savage, bloodthirsty marauders. They plague the civilized races of the world and also fight among themselves for scraps of food and treasure. They love close combat and plunge furiously into the thick of battle, giving no thought to retreat or surrender.

Within what passes for orc society, there are orcs that fill special roles. Eyes of Gruumsh are orcs with a special connection to their fierce god. They offer sacrifices, read omens, and advise the tribe’s chieftain of Gruumsh’s will. Orc bloodragers are tribal champions feared for their strength and ferocity, and they also make excellent subchiefs or bodyguards.

Orcs often fight alongside ogres, and they can be coerced or bullied into serving any dark overlord or wicked monster powerful enough to command their obedience.

Orc Drudge Level 4 Minion
Medium natural humanoid XP 44
Initiative +0 Senses Perception +0; low-light vision
HP 1; a missed attack never damages a minion.
AC 16; Fortitude 15, Refl ex 12, Will 12
Speed 6 (8 while charging)
m Club (standard; at-will) ✦ Weapon
+9 vs. AC; 5 damage.
Alignment Chaotic evil Languages Common, Giant
Str 16 (+3) Dex 10 (+0) Wis 10 (+0)
Con 14 (+2) Int 8 (–1) Cha 9 (–1)
Equipment hide armor, club
Orc Drudge Tactics
Orc minions have no particular sense of honor and simply swarm around a foe and hack it to death. Orc drudges usually begin a fight by charging (they gain extra speed in the charge).

Orc Warrior Level 9 Minion
Medium natural humanoid XP 100
Initiative +3 Senses Perception +3; low-light vision
HP 1; a missed attack never damages a minion.
AC 21; Fortitude 19, Refl ex 16, Will 16
Speed 6 (8 while charging)
m Battleaxe (standard; at-will) ✦ Weapon
+14 vs. AC; 6 damage.
Alignment Chaotic evil Languages Common, Giant
Str 17 (+6) Dex 11 (+3) Wis 10 (+3)
Con 15 (+5) Int 8 (+2) Cha 9 (+2)
Equipment leather armor, light shield, battleaxe
Orc Warrior Tactics
The orc warrior charges into battle, cutting down its enemies with its battleaxe.

Orc Raider Level 3 Skirmisher
Medium natural humanoid XP 150
Initiative +5 Senses Perception +1; low-light vision
HP 46; Bloodied 23; see also warrior’s surge
AC 17; Fortitude 15, Refl ex 14, Will 12
Speed 6 (8 while charging)
m Greataxe (standard; at-will) ✦ Weapon
+8 vs. AC; 1d12 + 3 damage (crit 1d12 + 15).
R Handaxe (standard; at-will) ✦ Weapon
Ranged 5/10; +7 vs. AC; 1d6 + 3 damage; see also killer’s eye.
M Warrior’s Surge (standard, usable only while bloodied; encounter)
✦ Healing, Weapon
The orc raider makes a melee basic attack and regains 11 hit points.
Killer’s Eye
When making a ranged attack, the orc raider ignores cover and concealment (but not total concealment) if the target is within 5 squares of it.
Alignment Chaotic evil Languages Common, Giant
Skills Endurance +8, Intimidate +5
Str 17 (+4) Dex 15 (+3) Wis 10 (+1)
Con 14 (+3) Int 8 (+0) Cha 9 (+0)
Equipment leather armor, greataxe, 4 handaxes
Orc Raider Tactics
The orc raider hurls handaxes until it runs out of axes or until its enemies close to melee, at which point it draws its greataxe.

Orc Berserker Level 4 Brute
Medium natural humanoid XP 175
Initiative +3 Senses Perception +2; low-light vision
HP 66; Bloodied 33; see also warrior’s surge
AC 15; Fortitude 17, Refl ex 13, Will 12
Speed 6 (8 while charging)
m Greataxe (standard; at-will) ✦ Weapon
+8 vs. AC; 1d12 + 5 damage (crit 1d12 + 17).
M Warrior’s Surge (standard, usable only while bloodied; encounter)
✦ Healing, Weapon
The orc berserker makes a melee basic attack and regains 16 hit points.
Alignment Chaotic evil Languages Common, Giant
Skills Endurance +10, Intimidate +6
Str 20 (+7) Dex 13 (+3) Wis 10 (+2)
Con 16 (+5) Int 8 (+1) Cha 9 (+1)
Equipment leather armor, greataxe
Orc Berserker Tactics
The fierce berserker wades recklessly into battle and would rather die than retreat.

Orc Eye of Gruumsh Level 5 Controller (Leader)
Medium natural humanoid XP 200
Initiative +6 Senses Perception +3; low-light vision
Wrath of Gruumsh aura 10; orcs in the aura can use death strike (see below).
HP 64; Bloodied 32; see also warrior’s surge and death strike
AC 19; Fortitude 17, Refl ex 14, Will 15
Speed 6 (8 while charging)
m Spear (standard; at-will) ✦ Weapon
+10 vs. AC; 1d8 + 3 damage.
M Warrior’s Surge (standard, usable only while bloodied; encounter)
✦ Healing, Weapon
The eye of Gruumsh makes a melee basic attack and regains 16 hit points.
M Death Strike (when reduced to 0 hit points)
The orc makes a melee basic attack.
R Eye of Wrath (minor; at-will) ✦ Fear
Ranged 5; +8 vs. Will; the target takes a –4 penalty to AC (save
ends).
R Swift Arm of Destruction (standard; recharge ⚄ ⚅ ) ✦ Healing Ranged 5; one orc within range makes a melee basic attack (as a free action) and regains 15 hit points on a hit or 5 hit points on a miss.
AChaos Hammer (standard; encounter) ✦ Force
Area burst 1 within 10; +8 vs. Reflex; 2d6 + 3 force damage, and the target is knocked prone. Miss: Half damage, and the target is not knocked prone.
Alignment Chaotic evil Languages Common, Giant
Skills Endurance +10, Intimidate +10, Religion +7
Str 17 (+5) Dex 14 (+4) Wis 12 (+3)
Con 16 (+5) Int 11 (+2) Cha 17 (+5)
Equipment leather armor, fur cloak, spear
Orc Eye of Gruumsh Tactics
This orc stays within 10 squares of its allies so that they benefit from its aura. Unless it has an enemy it can attack with its spear, the eye of Gruumsh uses its eye of wrath up to three times in a round to make its foes more vulnerable to attacks,
and then uses swift arm of destruction to help keep its allies in the fight. If it sees multiple enemies grouped together, it pounds them with chaos hammer.

Orc Bloodrager Level 7 Elite Brute
Medium natural humanoid XP 600
Initiative +5 Senses Perception +3; low-light vision
HP 194; Bloodied 97; see also warrior’s surge
AC 21; Fortitude 22, Refl ex 19, Will 17
Saving Throws +2
Speed 6 (8 while charging)
Action Points 1
m Greataxe (standard; at-will) ✦ Weapon
+11 vs. AC; 1d12 + 5 damage (crit 1d12 + 17); see also blood for blood.
M Warrior’s Surge (standard, usable only while bloodied; encounter)
✦ Healing, Weapon
The orc bloodrager makes a melee basic attack and regains 48 hit points.
MWounded Retaliation (immediate reaction, when hit by an adjacent enemy; at-will)
The orc bloodrager makes a melee basic attack against the enemy.
Blood for Blood ✦ Healing, Weapon
When it hits a bloodied enemy, the orc bloodrager deals an extra
5 damage and regains 10 hit points.
Alignment Chaotic evil Languages Common, Giant
Skills Endurance +11, Intimidate +8
Str 20 (+8) Dex 15 (+5) Wis 11 (+3)
Con 17 (+6) Int 9 (+2) Cha 10 (+3)
Equipment leather armor, greataxe
Orc Bloodrager Tactics
The orc bloodrager charges into battle and spends its action point to make an extra attack following its charge attack.
When it is hit by an adjacent enemy, it uses wounded retaliation.

Orc Chieftain Level 8 Elite Brute (Leader)
Medium natural humanoid XP 700
Initiative +5 Senses Perception +3; low-light vision
Blood of the Enemy aura 5; bloodied allies in the aura deal an extra
2 damage with melee attacks.
HP 216; Bloodied 108; see also warrior’s surge
AC 22; Fortitude 22, Refl ex 19, Will 21
Saving Throws +2
Speed 5 (7 while charging)
Action Points 1
mGreataxe (standard; at-will) ✦ Weapon
+11 vs. AC; 1d12 + 5 damage (crit 1d12 + 17).
R Inspire Ferocity (immediate reaction, when an ally within range drops to 0 hit points; recharge ⚄ ⚅ )
Ranged 10; the ally makes a melee basic attack.
M Warrior’s Surge (standard, usable only while bloodied; encounter)
✦ Healing, Weapon
The orc chieftain makes a melee basic attack and regains 54 hit points.
Alignment Chaotic evil Languages Common, Giant
Skills Endurance +12, Intimidate +13
Str 20 (+9) Dex 14 (+6) Wis 12 (+5)
Con 18 (+8) Int 10 (+4) Cha 19 (+8)
Equipment chainmail, greataxe
Orc Chieftain Tactics
The orc chieftain stays close to its allies so that they can take advantage of its blood of the enemy aura and its inspire ferocity power.

(Left to right) orc raider, orc bloodrager, orc eye of Gruumsh, and orc warrior

Orc Lore
A character knows the following information with a successful Nature check.
DC 15: Orcs favor hills and mountains, places pocked by caverns easily turned into defensible lairs. Bloodthirsty marauders and cannibals, orcs venerate Gruumsh and thereby delight in slaughter and destruction.
Orcs don’t build settlements of their own, instead improving existing shelters with crude fortifications. They prefer to settle in natural caves or structures abandoned by other, more skillful races. Orcs can manage simple ironwork and stonework, but they are lazy and grasping, preferring to take by force the tools, weapons, and goods other folk make.
DC 20: Orcs band together into loose tribal associations. The strongest individual in a tribe leads as a despotic chieftain. Individual bands within a tribe might wander far from their native lands, but they still recognize orcs from the same
tribe as kin.
DC 25: Orcs often demonstrate their faith in Gruumsh by gouging out one of their eyes and offering it as a sacrifice to their one-eyed god.
According to myth, Corellon shot out Gruumsh’s eye with an arrow. For this reason, orcs hold a special hatred for elves and eladrin.

Encounter Groups
Orc tribes use ogres and trolls as muscle for war and labor. They sometimes keep boars, drakes, and other beasts as pets.
Level 4 Encounter (XP 900)
✦ 2 orc raiders (level 3 skirmisher)
✦ 2 orc berserkers (level 4 brute)
✦ 1 dire boar (level 6 brute)
Level 6 Encounter (XP 1,350)
✦ 1 orc eye of Gruumsh (level 5 controller)
✦ 2 orc berserkers (level 4 brute)
✦ 4 orc warriors (level 9 minion)
✦ 2 dire wolves (level 5 skirmisher)
Level 9 Encounter (XP 2,150)
✦ 1 orc chieftain (level 8 elite brute)
✦ 5 orc warriors (level 9 minion)
✦ 1 dire boar (level 6 brute)
✦ 2 ogre skirmishers (level 8 skirmisher)
Level 10 Encounter (XP 2,650)
✦ 2 orc bloodragers (level 7 elite brute)
✦ 1 bloodspike behemoth (level 9 brute)
✦ 1 ogre skirmisher (level 8 skirmisher)
✦ 1 oni night haunter (level 8 elite controller)