The Orcoids

Orcs
Orcs are tall, muscular humanoids that are built to withstand whatever is thrown at them. They’re suited to live in harsh environs where others would perish and can fend off the fierce predators that roam within them. Orcs live in large family clans, holing up in irradiated, ruined cities or roaming the wastelands in caravans of cobbed together vehicles.

Both genders are powerfully built with leathery skin that protects them from the elements. The males are  typically taller than the females and sporting a large mane, to which they take great pride in. A male’s mane is a symbol status and honor. Bald orcs are considered outcasts and Shamed Ones. Orcs also have large canine teeth, unseen unless their mouth is wide open. Their lower jaws are also retractable. Females, while often smaller, are no less physically powerful, and can be quickly identified by the ridge on their scalps, which all orcs posses but that males hide under their hair, considering it a feminine trait.

A lifetime of being mostly nomadic has made orcs very resourceful, leaving almost nothing to waste and with a fame of recycling everything they can get their hands on that isn’t nailed down. Their vehicles, tools and weapons often have a cobbled, junk-heap feel to them, and they’re known to attach elements such as metal from abandoned cars and many other leftovers from the decrepit cities to their bodies, in a crude sense of fashion.

Orcs are primarily found in Europe, but their sheer hardiness allows them to live in almost every environment. Coupled with their high rate of fertility (“litters” of young being the norm) they are often considered one of the more numerous humanoids, if not one of the most numerous races period. The Preservationists among the Orthodox Order see them as a high threat to humanity and occasionally lead raids against orc holdings and caravans. This had led to a rough relationship with other humans they encounter.

Goblins
Related to orcs, goblins have a similar physiology but are shorter and leaner, with large ears and a mostly green skin tone. Males possess long manes as well, but due to goblin hair being greasier than orc hair, it can seldom hide the cranial ridge typical of orcoids, thus the general orc notion than goblin males are sissies or just very un-masculine.

Whereas orcs are nomads, goblin tribes lead a sedentary life and settle down on areas such as forests, mountain edges and hillsides. Their large eyes allow them to see clearly by night, but in turn this makes them extra sensitive to light, hence goblins prefer to live in dark, damp and poorly-lit areas, and when walking outside in the daytime they either wear hoods and other wrappings over their heads, or resort to shades and goggles.

Goblins lack the brute strenght of orcs, and as such their culture puts a great emphasis on stealth, skill and cleverness, qualities one requires to survive in the modern, dangerous world. This not only means goblins make sneaky bandits, but also terrifyingly competent assassins, planners and businessmen. Similarly, they are very skilled in the construction of weapons, vehicles, traps and other contraptions. It is often said that while you can likely beat a goblin in a fight, you can’t beat them in a battle of wits.

Perhaps unsurprisingly goblins and orcs have a long tradition of working together, offering their services to their larger kin as builders and assassins or scouts in exchange of protection.

Hobgoblins
The sad race of the hobgoblins are the end result of the successful mating between orc and goblin. Usually tall and lanky, with pronounced scalp ridges and extendable jaws, hobgoblins posses the natural strength of their orc heritage despite their ungainly forms, and can be as cunning and sharp-witted as the sneakiest goblin. Unfortunately, neither group approves of such hybrids, and the moment they come into the world, the gangly newborns are abandoned, left to the mercy of the gods. Those that manage to survive the many perilous trials to adulthood, in either case, will forever be the outcasts of the orcoid race, never to belong among their pure-blooded kin lest they allow themselves to be enslaved or worse

With no land to ever truly call their own, hobgoblins are even more nomadic than orcs and their ramshackle tribes are constantly on the move. On occasion they might settle down on secluded areas such as cave networks or abandoned houses, or they might form shanty town on the edges of towns and large cities, or even in catacombs and sewer systems. But should they notice orc or goblin activity approaching their hideouts they are quick to pack and flee, escaping from the certain abuse and ostracising they’ll inevitably face.

Due to their fate as eternal wandering rejects, hobgoblins don’t really possess their own culture, rather molding themselves to cultures they find, or taking bits and pieces as they go, in typical orcoid recycling fashion. They are known to be excellent leatherworks, but a great many of them tend to sell themselves out as servants, labourers or mercenaries, desperately seeking the safer, more stable, more sustainable lives their prejudicing kin keeps them away from.

Firbolgs
When abandoned by their parents, hobgoblins are forced to fend for themselves. While many manage to survive into adulthood, others are not so fortunate. Some wander aimlessly when trying to find a home, becoming lost in toxic wastelands or irradiated zones. And those that don’t die undergo a slow change that seems to have a similar occurrence among observed subjects: their skin becomes jet black, they grow multiple, mismatched lantern-like eyes, their teeth grow jutting and shard-like, and their fingers fuse into scythe-like talons. Known as “Firbolgs”, these rare but bloodthirsty beasts stalk their corrupted grounds by night, devouring the organs of their prey and impaling the hollow corpses on tree branches or sharp rocks to mark their territory. Their degree of regeneration, as well as their aversion to fire and their resistance to magic spells suggests a similar mutation to the more known and far more abundant fellow orcoid off-shoot, the troll. Why such change happens so quickly in hobgoblins remains a mystery, but scholars suggest this might be but a side-effect brought by their hybrid biology.

Gremlins
The smallest of the orcoid races, gremlins resemble hairless, stunted goblins at a first glance. Their heads are large in proportion to their bodies, mischievous wide eyes watching the world from under monstrous and expressive ears. Their skin tone has varying shades of blue, and their skinny arms end in hands possessing long, spidery and agile fingers. But what’s perhaps more outstanding in gremlins is that they didn’t come to be naturally, like their larger kin. Details are hazy, but the consensus is that in the relatively recent past some group, perhaps wizards or even fairies, dabbled with magic in an attempt to breed a docile, subservient kind of orcoid. The gremlins were the results of those experiments, and not only did they escape the control of their creators, but they thrived.

Naturally curious and observant, gremlins are extremely skilled in mechanical labor, and exemplify the resourceful ways of orcoids like no other. With enough scrap metal at hand they are capable of creating any kind of device they can think on, and their small stature, coupled with dextrous fingers and oily skin, makes them ideally suited for reaching deep within the tightest spots to dismantle, tighten or replace machinery. Thus it is no surprise they tend to make their settlements on junkyards and areas in the proximity of large cities, for this ensures a continuous stream of materials

Sadly, gremlins are just as notorious for their wild and destructive behavior as for being crafty. A gremlin who finds him/herself with nothing to do quickly grows bored, and will resort to be entertained by such acts as wanton sabotage, or crafting an explosive weapon on the fly to pass the time shooting at the scenery. Old relics such as aircraft or military vehicles seem to be a popular target, as according to the gremlins themselves they make the most “thrilling” damage. It’s because of this that any given gremlins in an area are usually watched over and kept busy as long as it is possible, lest they grow bored.

Goblins and gremlins get along surprisingly well, given their similar way of thinking, and there are counted cases of crossbreeding, though these remain rare due to the orcoid taboo regarding hybrids, the lack of recognizable features in these, and the fact goblin females still vastly prefer their males over gremlins, citing the lack of overly masculine traits in them.

Fomoraig
Sometimes called “Black orcs”, or “Orc men”, the Fomoraig are the largest of all orcoids (if one doesn’t count the trolls) and also the most ferocious. Towering over even the tallest orcs, and considerably more robust, they are dark brown or even black in color except for their faces, which are a vibrant blood red that also has earned them the title of “Redcaps”

In the ancient ages of U’rth the Fomoraig used to be far more numerous, but since the long wars for domination their numbers have shrunk noticeably. Nowadays they mostly dwell in the far corners of the world, those lands dangerous or inhospitable enough for even regular orcoids to thrive in. Raising semi-permanent settlements, Fomoraigs are close-knit and militaristic, heavily using metal in all their crafts, and are of great renown as mercenaries, soldiers and hunters, with little equal

Fomoraigs openly despise their lesser kin, considering them backwards and inferior, and keep their distance from them as much as possible, if they aren’t aggressively purging them off their lands outright. Males grow impressively sized manes, even in comparison with orcs, and force their canines to grow askew from an early age, causing them to always protrude from the mouth.

Trolls
When the world was still young and its inhabitants restless and inexperienced, the orcoid races poured over every conceivable environment, driven by their instinct to root, dominate and prosper in all lands within their reach. A great many, however, dared to spread into the most tainted places, lands where the magic was at its thickest and all-consuming, enough to force its touch on every form of life. And just like the plants and animals in such regions, the orcoids were slowly corrupted, warped over the many generations into stronger, larger, more horrible, more bestial forms, until they gave birth to one of the most dreaded and widespread creatures in all of U’rth, the trolls

Trolls are hulking monstrosities whose sheer size and dim-witted appearance belies their powerful nature. They are outwardly orcoid in shape, but the touch of magic means that no troll ever looks the same, giving them unpredictable and random mutations such as jutting teeth, extra limbs, misshapen proportions, tumours, external bones, tails, even more than one head. Troll intelligence is minimal, and thought they can use rudimentary weapons they will most often use their claws and teeth and formidable strength to hunt, tearing through any obstacle. Indiscriminate appetites ensure the trolls can devour almost anything, like ogres, and subsist on even the most disgusting and meagre of diets.

But the most worrying trait of a troll is its power of regeneration. Cuts and wounds will close within seconds of being opened, hands and limbs will grow back if severed, and even a troll that gets its head blown away by a cannonball will grow a new one. Adding the fact their rough leathery skin is highly resistant to thrown spells, it can be extremely difficult to kill a troll without adequate preparations. Fire and acid are the only things they cannot endure.

Trolls live alone or in small groups, and, like fellow orcoids, easily adapt to most environments.