May the Great Eye never look upon you !

Called Goblins by the peoples of Pamaltela, Orcs by the elves or Uruk in their own language, this race is universally hated and feared in Griffin Island. It is said that during the God War, Wakboth the Devil himself altered the form of captive elves to breed the race of the orcs as a mockery toward the Celestial Court and the elder races.

Orcs, from the first, have been predisposed to serve powerful evil masters, although their dark hearts harbor a deep-buried hate toward their creator, which surfaces unpredictably in rebellion and treachery at the first sign of weakness in an overlord. Since the beginning of the first age orcs have dominated the south-western mountains in the island. Few of their neighbors have amicable dealings with them. The cave and mountain trolls of the region sometime cooperate in evil ventures, or even serve as mercenaries in an orcish host, valued by the orcs for their enormous strength, but secretly mocked for their equally phenomenal stupidity.

The mannish servants and slaves of Alcyon var Enkorth fight with the orcs under Ockless's banners, but there is little love between the votanki hunters and the zaring warriors on one hand, and the orcs on the other. Even in the same army the men and orcs cooperate poorly, and are apt to fight among themselves when no strong leader is present.
Orcs and dwarves have a long history of bitter fighting, and many blood debts still remain unpaid in the Great Book of Rancors conserved in Kazâd-Uzuk, the dwarven city.
There is a mutual and perpetual hatred between orcs and elves, stemming from the chaos wars, and battle is certain to ensue whenever orcs and elves meet.

Physical Appearance and Abilities

The orcs are divided into two distinct breeds and castes. Common orcs are the original stock and by far the most numerous, breeding faster than any other humanoid race. Among them lives an elite race of great orcs, the formidable Uruk-Hai, initially descending from superior orcs bred under the direct supervision of Wakboth, and now carefully mated only with their own kind. The Uruk-Hai are stronger both intellectually and physically, and customarily act as tribal leaders and bodyguards of orcish rulers and priests.
All orcs have sallow or dark skin, thick hairy hides, clawed hands, grotesque broad flat faces with fangs and slanting eyes with contractile pupils similar to cat. Their build is ape-like with short crooked legs and long arms. They enjoy tremendous endurance, needing to rest but once every three days if pressed. Highly resistant to extremes of heat or cold, orcs can function in nearly any climate.
Common orcs stand between three and five feet tall. Possessing superior night vision, they can see under a starlight sky as do other in broad daylight, and even in absolute darkness they perceive forms at a short distance.In full sunlight, however, their vision is impaired and they are seriously weakened and disoriented. Their sense of smell is acute, and with proper training they can track quarry by scent alone.
Uruk-Hai are some five to six feet tall, nearly as large as men and broader build. Their night vision is not as good, and therefore they are more prone to rely on artificial illumination such as torches, particularly underground. This handicap is however more than offset by their ability to function normally under the sun.

Attitudes and Lifestyle

The life of an orc is best summarized as "nasty, brutish and short". Bloodthirsty, treacherous and cruel, orcs are rarely content save when eating, fighting and torturing captives. They mistrust one another, often with good reasons, and fight among themselves when no other enemies are available. Orcs are kept under control best by the constant demonstration of strength. Kindness or mercy are invariably interpreted as weakness and taken advantage of accordingly.
Although naturally lazy, orcs do not lack skills. They can tunnel and mine almost as well as the dwarves, and when under harsh control, they are capable of prodigious work. Orcs smiths are renowned for their mastery in the crafting of weapons, armors, war engines and torture implements.
Having a different appreciation for beauty, their handiwork does not exhibit the sober efficiency of dwarven craft, but instead a kind of gothic style designed to enhance the war-like appearance of every object. They are, however, always serviceable and effective.
Orcish healers also deserve recognition for their astonishingly quick results: a severely wounded soldier can be put back into action in a matter of hours! At the same time, these healers are unique for their total indifference to pain or scarring, which only enhance a goblin warrior's reputation.

Social Structure

Violence and fear are the cement of orcish society. A goblin community is an uneasy grouping of tribal units, with numerous smaller fractions often feuding with one another and only held together by the will of a strong leader.
Orcs reproduce in the usual manner, but do not marry; rather, they breed. Orcish females of child-bearing age and fitness live together in secluded areas of the orcs' lair, well guarded and accessible only to the stronger males; outsiders are never permitted to see female orcs. Some are kept in general breeding harems for the warriors, while others become the personal possession of orcish lords, for so long as they retain power. These practices do ensure the strongest offsprings, and since orcs can reproduce more prolifically than elves, dwarves or humans, their numbers are only limited by the resources available to sustain the offsprings. Under the drive of powerful overlord, a tribe can replenish its warrior strength in a few generations if the females are unharmed.
Young orcs are raised collectively in caves worse than the most horrid mannish orphanages. This lifestyle quickly teach young orcs that survival is won by craftiness and brute force. The weakest of the offsprings are devoured by the others, so that they do not burden the community.
At age nine, full maturity, common orcs are assigned to a "lurg", a unit of 10 to 15 orcs who work, live, fight and die together. The highest position that a common orc can expect to raise is the command of his lurg.
The upbringing differs for the Uruk-hai. The offsprings are also raised collectively, but apart from the common orcs whom they would otherwise slaughter and eat. They are constantly impressed with the sense of their superiority and the prowess of their fathers. At the age of fifteen, the less intelligent are designated as warriors, while the most capable are trained as officers, priest or sorcerers.