Charge headlong into combat with the battle-hardened Orc.
What are Orcs?
For a long time, Orcs have had a nasty stereotype; one of brutish savagery, creatures that live to kill and satisfy the warmongering nature of their main deity, the one-eyed Gruumsh.
This has changed somewhat with the introduction of Eberron: Rising from the Last War and the Explorer’s Guide to Wildemount which both portray Orcs as at times brutish, but also creatures closer to nature, with a great amount of passion, capable of outbursts of mirth, heroism and even compassion. While this doesn’t mean that all Orcs lack savagery, many continue to be the murderous folk they’ve been stereotyped as, especially in the Forgotten Realms, but it does give greater licence for players to create an Orc that is not evil.
Orcs from different settings, races and personalities will vary in how they express their tough, brutish nature. Some will seek out combat and war, others use their strength to guard and protect, particularly the natural world they value.
This trend of varied Orc personalities has continued in Monsters of the Multiverse and it’s these updated Orcs we’ll use for the purposes of this guide below. If you want to play as an Orc in D&D 5e, then read on below for everything you need to know.
At a glance
Dungeons and Dragons lets you take a flexible approach to building a character, but if you’re going to stick to typical culture and the best-optimised build for a Orc you might consider the following:
Choose an Orc if you like…
- Charging headlong into combat
- Playing a melee-focused race
- Being tougher than everyone else
An Orc might not be for you if…
- You want to play things cautiously
- Don’t want to play a melee focused race
- Like to fight from a safe distance
If you think an Orc isn’t for you, not to worry, there are dozens of playable races for you to pick from, just check out our races guide to find out about all of them. For an alternative melee-focused race, you could consider a Minotaur or a Leonin.
Orc racial traits
| Ability Scores | +2 to one ability score and +1 to another or +1 to 3 different ability scores |
| Creature Type | Humanoid |
| Size | Medium |
| Speed | 30ft |
| Languages | Common and 1 other |
| Traits | Adrenaline Rush, Darkvision, Powerful Build, Relentless Endurance |
| Proficiencies | None |
| Resistances | None |
| Darkvision | Yes |
| Innate Spellcasting | None |
| Book found in | Mordenkainen Presents: Monsters of the Multiverse |
Tactics
Orcs are tough creatures and eager to charge headlong into the fray. Their racial traits support this by providing you with ways to survive a little more damage and to get into close.combat more easily.
The following tactics will help you make better use of an Orc’s traits:
Charge headlong into battle: Dash as a bonus action is good for 2 things; getting you closer to your enemy quickly (which you’ll need if you’re melee focused) and getting away from danger quickly. The first scenario is much more useful making Orcs great for frontline martials. Which brings me onto my next point…
Be a tank: As the first one in combat, you’ll need to be tough enough to take a beating. Fortunately, Orcs have the traits to complement this. Adrenaline rush is a solid source of temporary hit points while relentless endurance will let survive a blow that would normally down another creature. This isn’t enough for a tank though, so your best options is to take a naturally tanky class. Barbarians, druids, fighters and paladins are your best options here.
Which classes work well for Orcs?
Orcs are tough, so the best classes are the ones that are going to make the most of that hardiness. They’re also good at getting into melee combat first meaning frontline martials are going to be your best options for an Orc.
Below I’ve put together a score for how well each class works with a Orc based on how well the racial traits work with each class:
Artificer⭐⭐⭐⭐
Barbarian ⭐⭐⭐⭐
Bard ⭐⭐⭐
Cleric ⭐⭐⭐⭐
Druid ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
Fighter ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
Monk ⭐⭐⭐⭐
Paladin ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
Ranger ⭐⭐⭐
Rogue ⭐⭐
Sorcerer ⭐⭐⭐
Warlock ⭐⭐⭐
Wizard ⭐⭐⭐
*Star ratings scored out of 5
Best classes for an Orc
The stand out options here are classes that need extra durability and use their bonus action less. Even then, many classes that like to stay out of the firing line will benefit from a bit of extra durability meaning there are no really bad class options for an Orc.
Druids, fighters and paladins are the standout options. Barbarians remain a decent fit, but tend to need their bonus action early in combat for rage making it less useful.
monks and artificers are worth a special mention as often frontline martials that tend to lack a bit in the durability department.
Worst classes for an Orc
All classes stand to gain from some extra durability, but I’d say that rogues stand to gain less as a class that tend to get their durability by avoiding being hit altogether.
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About Orcs
Appearance
Orcs are humanoids, standing a bit taller than humans at over 6ft tall and weighing about 250 pounds. They typically have green or blueish skin and large, tusk-like teeth. Their skin is tougher than that of humans and they tend to build muscle more naturally than most races too giving them a frightening appearance.
Personality
With such natural strength, many Orcs tend towards being more aggressive. They often bully other races around and have a hatred towards the civilised races like Humans, Dwarves and Elves. Orcs themselves tend to create little in the way of civilisations but will work together in large communities or warbands. Either way, they’re more at home in nature with basic shelters than beings like Humans are.
Orcs worship Gruumsh, their one-eyed deity and creator. Gruumsh is a powerful warrior and leader and inspires Orcs towards similar qualities. For the Orcs of the Forgotten Realms, this often manifests in bringing glory through war and combat. In other settings like Eberron, this manifests through an intense passion and desire to protect the nature around them. For either of these groups though, Orcs respect a powerful warrior and often select their leaders from among their greatest warriors.
Orcs are naturally religious which also fuels some amount of superstition. Many Orcs will shun magic for this reason and even destroy magical artefacts being suspicious of such things. Some Orcs though, especially those with a greater connection to nature, find themselves at home with natural magics. Orcs can still be spellcasters, but it’s frowned upon more often in Orcish culture.
How to roleplay as an Orc
As explained, Orcs come in a variety of personalities with differing skillsets. They tend towards classes that take advantage of their powerful strength, but other skills are respected and seen as useful in Orcish culture. If you want to play as an Orc, it’s worth considering the following:
- How do you bring honour to Gruumsh? Many Orcs choose to bring honour to Gruumsh through acts of violence, especially war. Others choose to use their strength for heroism. Others may not even worship Gruumsh or display the typical qualities of Orc kind. Some Orcs may have abandoned Gruumsh altogether. It’s worth considering your relationship with Gruumsh and how that affects your actions.
- Stereotypical bad guy: If you’re playing as an Orc, especially in the Forgotten Realms, you may need to be prepared for how others perceive your character. Many will assume that you are evil or untrustworthy. How do you react to this? Do you embrace this, stay quiet or get angry at the quick judgements of others.
- Why have you left the tribe? Most Orcs stick together as they often aren’t welcome among the other civilisations (and often for good reason). Why have you left your tribe and chosen to join an adventuring party? And what drives you on this mission.
