This article has been coming for a while now.
I’ve been thinking about this topic ever since Professor DM talked about it on Dungeoncraft a while back. Here’s what he was saying. I like Angry Dwarf’s recognition guide especially.
Orcs have been in fantasy RPGs as far back as original Dungeons & Dragons. They were, of course, mostly ported over from the Lord of the Rings books. However, the actual term “Orc” actually appeared in Beowulf and possibly farther back as a shortened version of “Orcus” aka the god of the Underworld. It appears Tolkien actually latched onto the term for his own purposes.
Prior to Lord of the Rings, Orcs were evil spirits, goblins, or spectres. Tolkien once described them as, “squat, broad, flat-nosed, sallow-skinned, with wide mouths and slant eyes.” Sounds terribly unpleasant if you ask me. But that’s the original Orcs for ya.
Disclaimer: Statements expressed in this article are strictly my opinion. If you disagree or have a different opinion, that’s okay. I’m not an expert on everything. I’m not always right. I’m just writing from my experience as I know it. Your mileage may vary.
D&D and the birth of the pig-nosed Orcs.
The early days gave us the pig-nosed, greenish skinned Orcs. They would never be mistaken for party members. Violence against anything not an Orc was pretty much their love language.
They became tribes of ruthless invaders, akin to Cossacks and Huns. At no point in time during the early days were Orcs considered personable or friendly unless they were given a show of force. As a species, they were the farthest thing from a PC race.
Along came Games Workshop with Orks.
I played Space Orks as my first ever Warhammer 40,000. They were fun and quirky. They had a very distinct look as short, muscular, green guys with tusks (teef) which Orks use as currency. They became a staple army of Fantasy and 40K players alike. The OG Space Hulk even had Orks in Mega Armor. My primary War Boss was Space ‘Ulk ‘Ogan. (*What’cha gonna do, brother? What’cha gonna do when Space ‘Ulk ‘Ogan and the big green tide rolls over you?)
Then Gorka Morka, a cool game where red ones go faster and da boyz all piled in to go ‘ave a brawl. Suddenly Orks grew in size and stature and became even more savage looking. Their weapons, such as choppas, looked like little more than little more than an old sling blade only with chunks missing out of the blade. Some of their other weapons looked like they were formed from old pipes and scrap metal. Orks took a step up into looking like green pro wrestlers with tusks right after the apocalypse.
Warcraft and eventually World of Warcraft gave us even prettier Orcs.
Then there was the age of the pretty Orcs who looked like toned, muscled Elves with green skin and pointy teeth. They were basically Cosplay Orcs because there wasn’t a lot of extra makeup and appliques beyond what could readily be scrounged from a couple of Halloween costumes (Green Goblin, Hulk, and executioner or knight…) These Orcs look cool as all get out on the video game screen.
I played WoW for over ten years. I was Alliance, but I saw my fair share of Orcs in the game. They ranged from attractive green Humans with tusks to big, green Elves with tusks. The WoW and Warcraft TTRPGs made them look a little more rough-and-tumble, but not by much.
Just when I thought I was done with Wizards of the (freakin) Coast.
Now we have WotC Orcs or WotrCs. Orcs of the Coast? Abysmal failure at rebranding? I’m not even sure what to call them. Apparently these are the newer, warmer, more kid friendly, lovable Orcs. How did this art not get flagged by WotC’s many Sensitivity Readers?
How is this not cultural appropriation? The Sensitivity Readers will flag words such as “shaman,” or “civilized” but this post-colonial style art gets a pass? Seriously? What’s next? If I make a species of all Aztec/Mayan Halflings, is that going to be cool, too? Polynesian Elves? Mongolian Goblins? What’s next?
I kept telling myself after yesterday’s article I was just going to let the whole thing go. This is just another Wizards of the Coast cry for attention. It’s not enough that half the Internet and most of the D&DTubers are talking about the new Player’s Handbook stuff. Now we have to have another 🦆🦆🦆 🦆🦆🦆🦆 art controversy! What’s next? Was it painted by AI, too?
The new WotC D&D Player’s Handbook Orcs look like humans in bad costumes. I get that WotC is trying to separate D&D from all the old “bad” heritage from the 1970s (that WotC hates so much) but come on. This is going too far even for WotC. The new dragon art is just as lackluster. It’s like they’re trying to ruin the tabletop game.
You know the best take I’ve seen on Orcs in a long time?
Yup. It’s Dragonbane. The Orcs aren’t super vicious or aggressive. If anything the canon Orcs in that RPG are oppressed by the other Kin of the game. They are organized into clans. They are fearsome fighters, loyal, and brave. Orcs in Dragonbane remind me a little bit of Klingons from Star Trek. Orcs in Dragonbane have every reason to be mistrustful of humans and they will never be mistaken for green Elves or humans.
It’s almost as if the writers at Free League didn’t have 50 years of baggage hanging over their heads and just wanted to design a TableTop RolePlaying Game. It’s almost as if the Dragonbane authors work for the same company that makes a Lord of the Rings roleplaying game– The One Ring. Hmm. Free League isn’t run by a bunch of greedy capitalist Hasbro Reptilian Overlords.
Imagine a company that just wants to make money by making a quality product. Imagine putting gamers in charge of the intellectual property and having the game turn out to be amazing! Last, isn’t it great that the company in charge of Dragonbane doesn’t have to create a new controversy with every release? I think game companies and designers alike could learn a lot about how to create and maintain an RPG title just by observing Dragonbane.
Now that I am back into a more proper mindset, thank you for being here. I love Dragonbane. It’s everything those other guys used to be and more. Have a great weekend regardless of your favorite game or system.
Jeff's Game Box 