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Doge
Seeker
73 Posts |
 Posted - 27 Mar 2012 : 12:13:29
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Greetings scribes. I have always wondered as to what a half-orc's eye colors are. Whenever I played one his eyes were either red like his orc parent or heterochromic with one of each of his parent's eye colors. Can anyone point me where it is written? I simply may have overlooked it in the PHB or RoF.
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Kentinal
Great Reader
4690 Posts |
Posted - 27 Mar 2012 : 12:21:56
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quote:
Half-orcs tend to favor the orcish strain heavily, and as such are basically orcs, although 10% of these offspring can pass as ugly humans.
2nd Edition.
I would infer that eye color would be that of a full human for this 10 percent. It of course leases open some others looking more like an orc still could have human eye color. |
"Small beings can have small wisdom," the dragon said. "And small wise beings are better than small fools. Listen: Wisdom is caring for afterwards."
"Caring for afterwards ...? Ker repeated this without understanding.
"After action, afterwards," the dragon said. "Choose the afterwards first, then the action. Fools choose action first."
"Judgement" copyright 2003 by Elizabeth Moon |
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Ayrik
Great Reader
Canada
7989 Posts |
Posted - 27 Mar 2012 : 14:36:54
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Also in AD&D 2E ...quote:
MM:
Orcs vary widely in appearance, as they frequently crossbreed with other species. In general, they resemble primitive humans with grey-green skin covered with coarse hair ... Their eyes are human, with a reddish tint that sometimes makes them appear to glow red when they reflect dim light sources in near darkess. This is actually part of their optical system, a pigment which gives them infravision.
Going back even further, to AD&D (1E) ...quote:
PHB:
Orcs are fecund and create many cross-breeds, most of the offspring of such being typically orcish. However, some one-tenth of the orc-human mongrels are sufficiently non-orcish to pass for human ... it is assumed that player characters which are of the half-orc race are within the superior 10% ...
MM (I):
... as orcs will breed with anything, there are any number of unsavory mongrels with orcish blood, particularly orc-goblins, orc-hobgoblins, and orc-humans ... Orcs tend to favor the orcish strain heavily, so such sorts are basically orcs although they can sometimes (10%) pass themselves off as true creatures of their other stock (goblins, hobgoblins, humans, etc.).
1E material does not describe orc eye colours, it only mentions that orcs hate sunlight and their infravision can see in total darkness. Since the general description of 1E orcs frequently emphasizes the overall colouration of orcs as dark and vaguely disgusting, I would think they don't have eye colours which stand out; I imagine small and beady eyes with overlarge darkly pigmented irises, possibly with constantly bloodshot scleras slightly tinted a sickly shade of military green. Perhaps goblinoid irises appear fully or partly opaque or are filled with ugly suspended chunks of rust-coloured particles or something, perhaps orcish tear ducts flood their eyes with watery blood ... anything which unnerves the lesser races is cool.
The depiction of orcs in 2E was slightly nerfed; they became a bit smaller and duller and more humanized, a little less dark and intimidating and bestial. 3E orcs were highly variable, although (contrary to claims protesting otherwise) most of these were obviously influenced by the popular green anime mobs in Blizzard's Warcraft games. A lot depends on the artwork within each product, which in turn depends largely on the artists. I've always preferred the half-bestial "classic fantasy" depiction of orcs and orogs, something similar to the Orcs and Uruk-hai shown in the Lord of the Rings movie trilogy or to the Morlocks in various versions of the Time Machine. The big rubber green Warcraft guys are still okay, I just don't personally like them, too Trollish for my grognard tastes.
There is one canon example of a human/half-orc woman, described as physically beautiful and desirable except for her one flaw ... an orcish piglike snout. I don't recall her eye colour being described but it would obviously fall within the norm for attractive humans. |
[/Ayrik] |
Edited by - Ayrik on 27 Mar 2012 14:53:11 |
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BEAST
Master of Realmslore
USA
1714 Posts |
Posted - 27 Mar 2012 : 17:46:40
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FWIW, the attractive (10%-er) half-orc woman Arrayan Faylin Maggotsweeper from "The Sellswords" was described as having large emerald green eyes (Promise of the Witch-King, P1:C4).
Her uncle Weird Wingham was said to have bright, sparkling gray eyes (POTWK, P1:C4).
Her boyfriend Olgerkhan, however, obviously a 90%-er, had bloodshot, jaundiced eyes (POTWK, P1:C4). |
"'You don't know my history,' he said dryly."
--Drizzt Do'Urden (The Pirate King, Part 1: Chapter 2)
<"Comprehensive Chronology of R.A. Salvatore Forgotten Realms Works"> |
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Galuf the Dwarf
Senior Scribe
USA
638 Posts |
Posted - 27 Mar 2012 : 20:27:09
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| Just double-checked the (3.5 Edition) PHB as well as Races of Faerun. Nothing about the color of their eyes. |
Galuf's Baldur's Gate NPC stats: forum.candlekeep.com/topic.asp?TOPIC_ID=8823
Galuf's 3.5 Ed. Cleric Domains: forum.candlekeep.com/topic.asp?TOPIC_ID=14036
Galuf's Homebrew 4th Edition Races: forum.candlekeep.com/topic.asp?TOPIC_ID=13787
Galuf's Homebrew Specialty Priest PrCs: forum.candlekeep.com/topic.asp?TOPIC_ID=14353
Galuf's Forgotten Realms Heralds and Allies thread: forum.candlekeep.com/topic.asp?TOPIC_ID=8766 |
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Ayrik
Great Reader
Canada
7989 Posts |
Posted - 27 Mar 2012 : 21:57:14
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| I'm not sure Arrayan is the half-orc woman I was trying to recall. IIRC she was one of the minor evil goons in the Azure Bonds novels. |
[/Ayrik] |
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Doge
Seeker
73 Posts |
Posted - 28 Mar 2012 : 00:27:52
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| Such wonderful bits of information. Thanks to everyone who contributed. |
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Half-orc eye colors?
