Art by Scott Purdy |
Half-orcs
are not a natural race. They are criminals
whose bodies have been altered by mutational alchemy so that they
might better perform hard labor as punishment; every half-orc was
originally a creature of another race whose physicality and spirit
has been changed by the introduction of orcish essences that lend
strength, endurance—and an aggressive personality, as an
unfortunate side-effect. As part of their punishment, half-orcs are
renamed with brutish orc appellations that mark their status as convicted
criminals.